Interview with Abe: Ellen Christiansen

I had the pleasure of speaking with Emmy nominee Ellen Christiansen, set decorator for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Check out our great conversation for Awards Radar.

Interview with Abe: Donna Zakowska

I had the pleasure of speaking with Emmy nominee Donna Zakowska, costume designer for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Check out our great conversation for Awards Radar.

Interview with Abe: Michael Zegen

It was great to get to speak with some talented members of the ensemble of a beloved conclude series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” for Awards Radar. Watch my conversation with Michael Zegen below!

Interview with Abe: Alex Borstein

It was great to get to speak with some talented members of the ensemble of a beloved conclude series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” for Awards Radar. Watch my conversation with Alex Borstein below!

Interview with Abe: Reid Scott and Jason Ralph

It was great to get to speak with some talented members of the ensemble of a beloved conclude series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” for Awards Radar. Watch my conversation with Reid Scott and Jason Ralph below!

Interview with Abe: Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle

It was great to get to speak with some talented members of the ensemble of a beloved conclude series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” for Awards Radar. Watch my conversation with Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle below!

Interview: Caroline Aaron and Kevin Pollak

It was great to get to speak with some talented members of the ensemble of a beloved conclude series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” for Awards Radar. Watch my conversation with Caroline Aaron and Kevin Pollak below!

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 5, Episode 3 “Typos and Torsos” (B+)

This episode offered the longest introduction yet to Midge as an older Jewish mother, interacting with a completely flummoxed Ethan, who couldn’t stand that his mother still wasn’t able to call his educational journey anything but “rabbi school” when she came by helicopter to visit him on a kibbutz in Israel in 1984. Joel seemed very set on not having Ethan go to a therapist, but we saw right away how that would eventually work out. Abe did enough damage after the embarrassing mistake of spelling Carol Channing’s name wrong when he told Ethan about all the things that should really have scared him. This was a big episode for meddling parents, with Shirley and Moishe driving Joel crazy at the club and then hiring a squad of Yiddish-speaking operatives to extract Mei from China when Joel told them that’s where she went. Susie as Rose’s muscle is a humorous concept, and one that has apparently enabled Susie to establish the kind of power she’s always wanted. Midge was quite shocked that they put in her joke, and her audible groan when Gordon messed it up on air was uncomfortable. He apparently finds her charm irresistible, and that ice skating scene was one of this show’s typically impressive glorious visual sequences. It creates a sense of magic and grounds the show in its time period setting, even as the future threatens to collide with the past as this show nears its end. I’m eager to finish it up but also want to savor it before it’s completely over.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 5, Episode 2 “It's a Man, Man, Man, Man World” (B+)

I have strong flashes about future teases, and I think this show is doing a great job in its final season, showing fleeting glimpses that offer more context than we’re realistically going to get without ensuring that the events we see are so tied to where they end up. The older Midge has found success but also continued to live in chaos, with four husbands and a fallout with Susie, which all tracks. It wasn’t too surprising that no one believed that Midge had actually been hired by Gordon, and she had enough trouble trying to convince her new colleagues that she was now an employee. That office is an entirely different kind of ridiculous, but there’s such a fun cast involved, including Eddie Kaye Thomas as Adam, Michael Cyril Creighton as Mel, and Peter Friedman as the much-hated George. The bathroom song and her obsession with sitting outfits were highlights, as was the episode-closing emphasis that she knew her joke about Eisenhower and diapers was funny. I loved that she ran into - and tried to run away from - Sylvio on the train, and asking Joel if he shrunk because he was wearing someone else’s clothes was also hilarious. It’s good that even Zelda gets a secret relationship she wasn’t hiding that only Susie bothered to notice, and the romantic developments between Abe and Rose were quite awkward and amusing. Gabe’s reaction to Abe very directly asking him about what that touch on the leg meant was fun to watch, and I like that Abe’s first response to a near-affair was to take his wife to that same place to recreate the moment with her.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season Premiere)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 5, Episode 1 “Go Forward” (B+)

It’s a real pleasure to have this show back, even if this is officially the final season. Opening in 1981 with an older Esther as a fast-talking scientist obsessed with not getting her mother’s approval was an entertaining and interesting choice, and I actually found it perfectly palatable. The Midge we saw following her wintry wandering was not at all the same person she typically is, and all that talk of the kids and her toe amounted to little as she ended up returning to her normal self in no time. Like season four’s fateful ferris wheel, the dinner was quite memorable also, with Astrid deciding to switch placecards so that Abe, who insisted that he was a grownup, ended up at the kids’ table, and Shirley and Moishe broke the news that they decided to get divorced, a decision that seems fairly mutual given the litany of issues they apparently have with each other. Joel sharing his own relationship news was obviously jumping the gun considering what Mei (played by the now Oscar-nominated Stephanie Hsu) told him about both Chicago and the baby when he came home. The way he chose to deal with that wasn’t great, and it’s going to be an uphill road for him this season. His standup act was particularly vicious and poorly-received. Susie is persistent as ever, and despite Mike trying to ban her from midtown, she figured out exactly the right way to literally get in front of him and argue to Gordon directly that he should add a woman - this woman - to his writing staff. That’s going to be a new, fun change, and we’ll see just how well Midge can play with others.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season Finale)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 4, Episode 8 “How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?” (A-)

This was a fantastic finale, and it’s great to know that there’s a season left after this for Midge to figure out what actually matters to her and what she’s going to make of her career. Lenny has been a fascinating character since his first appearance on this show, and the fact that he’s a real person gives some context to the idea that he was remembered, while Mrs. Maisel may ultimately fade into obscurity if she continues to refuse to take on gigs that could be important stepping stones. Running out after the raid led to a critical moment, one that finally saw them sleeping together with Midge making sure that he wouldn’t forget that she was funny. He was legitimately upset that she didn’t understand the opportunity she had in front of her, and that snowy walk to the Gordon Ford sign was very telling. Moishe seemed destined for death at the start of the episode, leading to talk of funeral plots and Abe writing an extremely emotional obituary for him that he read which made both men teary, a dramatic highlight of the hour that allowed things to get spectacularly serious for once. Mei won Shirley over but without her potential future mother-in-law having any idea of who she was, and Moishe affirmed Joel’s life choices with one important condition, something that Mei will likely be willing to undertake even if things shouldn’t have to be that way. I’m enjoying Susie’s work setup and look forward to seeing how her business continues to expand going forward. Even though this season played out over the course of four weeks instead of just one day, I think I still watched at about the same speed, and I’m looking forward to its return for its fifth and final season.

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Rachel Brosnahan

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 4, Episode 7 “Ethan... Esther… Chaim” (B+)

I do remember hearing that Milo Ventimiglia, the Emmy-nominated star of “This Is Us,” was going to be guest-starring on this show, and I would be genuinely surprised if it was just a mostly non-speaking role, one which involved just as much dialogue for Sarah Stiles from “Billions,” who played his furious wife. That story didn’t figure too much into the episode until later on, when Midge was batting a thousand and showing that she could indeed adapt her material to a specific audience, delighting Jackie Kennedy and all of her friends and supporters by commenting on how annoying it was that she was so perfect. But she had to give in to her less polished impulses and tell a story that wasn’t even as cringe-worthy or awful as some of her typical material, but which managed to make Jackie cry. Even Susie didn’t know about that gig, and I’m sure it won’t lead to any referrals. But Susie, in letting Dinah choose the place she was going to get fired, did enable her to prove her worth, and allow her to have multiple successful clients other than Midge and Sophie. While I’m not sure hypnosis works quite as well as it did during Alfie’s slam-dunk act, it was a treat to see Marin Hinkle performing Midge’s act word-for-word, offending everyone in the audience and making it so that she can never work again, even after Abe got intimidated by the women in his cigar shop. Midge didn’t take the news about Mei being pregnant all that well, and Moishe may have just landed himself in the hospital or worse out of shock. But the most worrisome people who have yet to find out are the ones who scared Nicky and Frank off of Mei’s trail: her parents.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 4, Episode 6 “Maisel vs. Lennon: The Cut Contest” (B+)

That final scene of the previous episode didn’t end up being all that consequential, though I assume we may see more of a less confused Lenny in the final two episodes of this season or next year, indebted to Midge for what he didn’t bother to thank her for at all. Susie’s new work hustle is a blast to watch, shocked that her secretary was able to locate Joel within seconds after she had spent hours trying to find him and balancing her three clients. Alfie definitely needs some work, and Susie pairing him with Joel is an interesting choice. Sophie showing up to Midge’s home and entertaining everyone who never has a kind word to say about what she does for a living was an aggressive move, and Midge responded in kind. But Sophie, who knows what it’s like to be struggling to break through due to her recent circumstances, was right that she had a perfect solution to Midge’s troubles. Midge was indeed a great warm-up act for her show, but Sophie couldn’t take the spotlight being on someone else and that blew up very quickly in a way that suggests it’s not fated to last. I loved Zelda’s reaction to Midge and Rose having no idea what the refrigerator light being out meant or that there was even a light. Abe and Rose are having some issues managing their time and space, but Abe is likely to be a bit less irritating now that he has Imogene, whose name he’s never going to learn, and Rose is focused on repairing the matchmaker relationships she accidentally started off on the wrong foot. Mei being pregnant is indeed a major development, one that’s going to make her eventual meeting with the Maisels all the more loaded.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 4, Episode 5 “How to Chew Quietly and Influence People” (B+)

I hadn’t expected to see Shy Baldwin again, in part because this show tends to move on from its season-long arcs and it’s also only been half a season since he left Midge and Susie on the tarmac. I had also imagined that the actors’ contracts wouldn’t have enabled return appearances like this, but in this case we just got LeRoy McClain and not Sterling K. Brown. But McClain was more than enough, putting on a great show and regaling everyone at the wedding with his musical performance and natural charm. He did seem shocked to see Midge there, and after he expressed that he missed her brisket, she did a pretty remarkable job of apologizing and suggesting a different route history could have taken before rejecting his offer to go for a drink by declaring that she now knows that they’re not friends. It was still more conciliatory than her exchange with her mother, who doesn’t want Midge’s career ruining her own with Solomon Melamid, played by Scott Cohen, and I’m impressed by Rachel Brosnahan’s dramatic work this season. Her refusal to accept the quickly-upped offer that ended up at $12,000 for her silence was a sign of Midge’s integrity in spite of everything, especially with Susie pushing for her to take the money for something she was going to do anyway. Susie actually did great work for her other client, who had to endure the hell of hailing a cab herself, and Sophie was superb on Gordon Ford, handling all the mocking with dignity and even managing not to miss a beat when she was literally handed a list of her addictions. With a secretary who can even set her hours for her, Susie is going to be able to be more productive and focused than ever before. I love that Mei learned a few basic Yiddish words and went to the trouble of (mistakenly) buying a yarmulke, and I hope that Moishe’s expression of support for his son’s heart means that she will eventually meet Joel’s parents, an encounter that might not even go so poorly.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 4, Episode 4 “Interesting People on Christopher Street” (B+)

To begin by referencing this episode’s title, which led to a humorous appearance by John Waters, it is true that we don’t see much of Susie’s love life, but as she says, she’s focused on her work right now. Unfortunately, that means she’s going to have to deal with the newly-returned Sophie, who may have been forced to give up her driver and her business manager but still expects people like Susie to push elevator buttons for her. I imagine that Susie’s amazing apartment deal is going to come with some unexpected visitors, but that’s part of the charm. At least she’ll be out of Midge’s home, which will at least enable Zelda to go home so that she won’t have to stick around to wash a dish, a concept that provoked a hilariously response from Zelda about going to do comedy when Midge said she would just do it. Abe and Asher were all set to be off the hook with the FBI but then Abe’s jealously got the better of him, and now he’s the one who seems angry and unhappy while Asher is ready to use the drama to write his next book. I’m eager to see what Joel’s parents think of Mei when they meet her, and she’s probably right that they may not call her the nicest names. I did enjoy Joel’s reaction to Midge having apparently told Ethan she was working at a strip club. That gig does seem to be working out pretty well, and even though she’s doing plenty that might get her in trouble, she has managed to get her new boss to think twice about saying things to her he shouldn’t, which should keep him sufficiently in line and her job secure.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 4, Episode 3 “Everything is Bellmore” (B+)

I could have told Abe, who shares both my name and my line of work, at least currently, that it’s not a good idea to review something put on by someone you know. It’s even worse when you’re expecting it to be a smash, and in this case, while that turn of events could have been predicted, the intensity with which he ripped it apart while, in his mind, being kind and talking only about the theater industry was still quite extravagant and entertaining. The only thing that could be more dramatic than interrupting a bar mitzvah service because the rabbi wanted to call Abe out on not being loyal to his people would be Abe getting called in with Asher to the FBI for having burned down a building years earlier. I did enjoy Moishe wondering how he could have been selected for an aliyah at the bar mitzvah only to discover, when someone else was called up, that it had been a mistake. Rose’s matchmaking career will surely be impacted by Abe’s review, though it may be balanced out by not having to distract Susie with a bowl full of ice cream. That was quite the monologue that Alex Borstein delivered as Susie hijacked another funeral service to honor Jackie, with the episode dedicated to the memory of actor Brian Tarantina, who died in 2019 at the age of sixty. Midge is trying to work her comedy audience at her new place of employment to lackluster effect, but at least Lenny’s visit was only encouraging.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 2, Episode 2 “Billy Jones and the Orgy Lamps” (B+)

I love the fast pace of dialogue on this show, best illustrated in the opening montage where Midge was able to double her tab everywhere, mostly by telling each vendor that the previous one had suggested it and that it was almost better for them than the other way around. Redesigning her bedroom so that she didn’t have to associate it with negative memories was probably a better theoretical concept than a practical one, and her parents agreeing to move in with her only if they could tell people that they bought her back the apartment is going to drive her endlessly crazy. Her father working out of her bathtub so he wouldn’t wake her mother and her mother moving all the kitchen items only to have Zelda move them back because she couldn’t reach any of them are entertaining consequences she’s already seeing. Susie’s visit to see a potentially committed Sophie was memorable, as was the phone call she got from her sister about how she’s now working at the insurance company where they successfully committed fraud. I knew I recognized the woman Midge met in jail, and that’s because she was played by Kayli Carter from “Private Life” and “Mrs. America.” I’m intrigued by Midge’s new career prospect, and I’m not sure it’s going to be all that she’s expecting it to be. I did enjoy seeing her have a sincere conversation with Abe at the end of the episode about how people actually liked him at his new job that paid him almost nothing, and seeing how warmly he received the caricature of himself during his first meeting.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season Premiere)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 4, Episode 1 “Rumble on the Wonder Wheel” (B+)

It’s great to have this show back and hard to believe that it’s been more than two years since season three ended. This is the first time in this show’s history that it’s going to divide up its episodes with two per week, an interesting development but one that should allow for an elongation of the entertainment period, which I think is wonderful. Accompanying Midge and Susie back in the taxi from the tarmac was an effective way to ease back into this show’s world, with Midge letting out some serious aggression directed at the taxi with a tree branch. While this certainly affects her future – something Susie apparently always imagined would happened at some point – her decision to borrow money from her former father-in-law to buy back her old apartment coincided rather unfortunately with Susie not having any cash on hand, forcing her to go with her sister to try to get a check they’re not going to get and then to an amusingly sarcastic Joel. Midge’s ex-husband is having enough troubles with his own landlords, and using an old dictionary to try to communicate isn’t working so well. Ethan’s grandparents changing his birthday because it was more convenient for them was a humorous setup for a wildly entertaining Wonder Wheel ride featuring a lot of shouting, a lot of blaming, and some important revelations. Among the most fun was Abe learning that people who need matchmakers aren’t lazy but may be curmudgeons like him. I’m looking forward to seeing how Midge revitalizes her career and seeing how this season plays out over the course of four weeks.

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season Finale)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 3, Episode 8 “A Jewish Girl Walks into the Apollo…” (B+)

I like when this show features flashbacks to previous events we hadn’t necessarily seen, and that was especially effective in this case as we saw Midge break the news to Joel that she was pregnant before encountering them again at the same spot with less rosy notions about Ethan going to school in Queens. Though she and Joel didn’t quite agree on a plan regarding that, she did have high ideals of getting her apartment back, a welcome return to normalcy for someone who’s been on the road for a while now. Her spot at the Apollo went very well, but unfortunately it seems that the nature of the jokes she made about Shy were enough to truly offend him, resulting in a parting exchange only with Reggie telling her – and Susie – that they were done. Presumably she’ll find something else to do, but this is definitely a crippling setback. Susie had a nice time saying goodbye to her mother with her sister, and hopefully she didn’t gamble all Midge’s money away. Joel may actually have done well for himself, while Rose has found a new passion that only occasionally has problematic consequences. I like that Benjamin showed up to confront Midge and she was pretty flabbergasted by the whole thing. Like the first two, this has been a fantastic and truly marvelous season, and I’m glad that the cast and Tony Shalhoub once again won SAG Awards for their fantastic work. I don’t know what to expect in season four, but I’m almost disappointed I finished this season so quickly since it means another ten or so months until the next season premieres.

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Rachel Brosnahan

What I’m Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 3, Episode 7 “Marvelous Radio” (B+)

I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on when this episode started and we kept seeing Midge go into studio after studio to record a radio ad, only to be paid in unbelievable quantities of the product she was selling. The repeated humorous quips about Susie not reading the contracts closely enough had some entertaining consequences, like her accidentally doing porn at one point, and when she had to be replaced first by Susie and then by someone else in the studio because she really just how heinous the message she was spreading on behalf of a far-right candidate who thought Nixon was too liberal was. It had an even more important influence on Susie’s relationship with her other client. Missing her cue and then speaking softly were signs that Sophie wasn’t ready for the big stage, but Susie was convinced by the end that she had tanked in on purpose. Telling her that she’ll never be worth what Midge is probably supports what viewers of this show want to hear and believe, but it was a harsh and unusually authentic sentiment from Susie. Abe chasing one of his former colleagues down the hall made it seem like no one was ever going to take him seriously again, but apparently he got published in the New York Times in time to give away copies of his piece at his grandson Chaim Christian’s bris. It was nice to see Benjamin again, who proved that he really is the nicest guy in the universe when he expressed that he holds nothing against Midge and assured a distraught Rose that he’s going to be fine.