TV Shows We Love: The Marvelous Mrs Maisel by Antigoni Pitta

It’s the 1950s, and things have gone exactly to plan for Midge Maisel. After college she quickly bagged herself an ideal husband, two kids and a beautiful apartment in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where they live a picture-perfect life.

Supporting her husband Joel as he traipses around the clubs of Greenwich Village in his attempts to enter the then-budding standup comedy circuit, Midge finds herself at a loss when he reveals he has been having an affair, leading her to reevaluate her life choices.

With her world crumbling, she accidentally delivers an uproarious set during a drunken night at a club, unveiling a hidden talent for comedy.

Now on its fourth season, Amazon Prime’s The Marvelous Mrs Maisel follows Midge (played by Rachel Brosnahan) as she pursues a career in the male dominated world of standup with wit and talent, transcending society’s expectations of a woman of her time.

In a boys’ club of an industry, where women took little to no space onstage except to be the butt of the joke, Midge transforms from uptown society woman to comedy sensation without sacrificing her personality – or fancy dresses.

Written by Amy Sherman-Palladino of Gilmore Girls fame, the show is full of sharp, witty dialogue and clever social commentary touching on class, race, gender and politics as it progresses from the late 1950s to the radical 1960s.

Of course it does take some creative liberties, like a friendship between Midge and real-life standup luminary Lenny Bruce, but in doing so it clues us in on the morals of the time, and the realities of showbiz.

We’ve come a long way since the 1950s, and women have forged illustrious careers in comedy. But for all intents and purposes, Midge is the perfect vehicle for proving wrong anyone that dares say that “women aren’t funny”.