At a recent event at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Rachel Brosnahan was asked about the #MeToo movement and its potential impact on her show, Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” “It all started after we finished shooting Season 1, but I’m sure it will affect the way women view the show,” the Golden Globe winner said. “I feel confident that we [series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her team] will tackle these issues.”
The series sees Brosnahan playing Miriam Maisel, also known as Midge, a 1950s New York City housewife and mother who risks it all to make it in the male-driven world of stand-up comedy. Earlier this year the show was named Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy) at the Golden Globes, and Brosnahan took home Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy). “Maisel” also won big at the 2018 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and the PGA Awards.
Midge’s journey as an undercover feminist develops throughout Season 1 as she goes from being happily married to separated to nearly reuniting with her husband, Joel (Michael Zegen). Of her character’s evolution Brosnahan said, “When change is forced upon her, Midge realizes what she doesn’t know and embraces what it means to be a woman.”
While she hasn’t seen a script for Season 2 yet, Brosnahan knows one thing about Midge for sure. “All her worlds as a mother, stand-up, daughter, and a working woman — none of these worlds go well together.” As such, Season 2 could go in an entirely different direction as Midge’s comedy career begins to take off.
“The thing that drew me to this role is that I’ve never played a woman so unapologetically confident. Midge is an amazing woman,” said Brosnahan, who appeared at the Y alongside Zegen. “There’s still an illusion that women can do it all and that’s horse shit. We’re expected to talk about ambition quietly.” She revealed that she relished the opportunity to work with Sherman-Palladino, known for her rapid-fire comedic dialogue and shows “Gilmore Girls” and “Bunheads.” Brosnahan called Sherman-Palladino’s language Shakespearean and rhythmic.
“Midge is inspired by women I’ve loved dearly. My grandmother was one of the women who said she wasn’t a feminist,” Brosnahan told the audience. “But she worked. She got divorced. She didn’t recognize that she was breaking boundaries.” Likewise, Brosnahan sees her character as a trailblazer and thinks that empowerment played a huge part in Midge’s burgeoning independence throughout Season 1.
However, Brosnahan acknowledged that, as Midge and Joel have kids, they’ll never leave each other completely. “As a parent, they’re the worst but at that time [in the 1950s], it wasn’t that weird that they didn’t spend time with their kids,” she said. “I think that maybe she wasn’t supposed to be a mother. Some women are meant to do other things. Eventually she finds her voice. She didn’t know she had one. She ends the season saying, ‘I am Midge Maisel — this is my identity!’”
Season 1 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Watch the full conversation with Brosnahan and Zegen below.
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