Summary

• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has established itself as a top comedy, although not all seasons maintain the same quality.
• The show offers a fast-paced, entertaining romp with energetic dialogue and a vibrant portrayal of 1960s New York City.
• While some seasons may be weaker, the show still delivers laughs and heartfelt moments, with excellent performances from the entire cast.

Over the course of five seasons, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel established itself as one of the best comedies on TV, but not all of its seasons are consistent in quality. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel follows a homemaker who starts an unlikely career as a stand-up comedian after her marriage breaks down. Midge and her manager struggle to get to grips with the industry, and Midge also has trouble balancing her new life with her eccentric family. Midge and Susie are the show's true focus, but Mrs. Maisel features a brilliant ensemble cast of family , entertainment industry figures, and more.

At its best, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a fast-paced, flashy romp. The dialogue fizzes with energy, perfectly mirroring the hustle and bustle of New York City's entertainment industry in the 1960s. Midge is constantly torn between what she wants for herself and what society tells her a woman in her position should have. Her life as a comedian isn't easy, but it offers her the freedom to speak her mind and earn a living on her own . With tons of gorgeous period details and a healthy dose of visual flair, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is gloriously entertaining. The best seasons of Mrs. Maisel are captivating, beautiful, and utterly hilarious.

5 Season 4

Midge rebuilds her career by doing comedy in a burlesque club, and Rose becomes a matchmaker

Season 4 picks up after Midge's devastating career setback when she has to watch Shy Baldwin's plane leave without her. She decides to stop compromising her act for other people, and she instructs Susie only to find her headline gigs. There aren't many places she can perform the way she wants to, so she becomes the house comic at an illegal strip club. Elsewhere, Abe starts writing for the Village Voice and Rose embarks on a new career as a matchmaker. Season 4 digs deeper into Susie's mob connections, with Frank and Nicky finding her an office and lurking with intent.

Even though season 4 is the show's weakest, it's still filled with laughs and plenty of other positives. Mrs. Maisel pays tribute to Brian Tarantina, who played Jackie. Susie's rant at his memorial service is loaded with real-world emotion, which makes it even more touching.

4 Season 5

Midge writes for Gordon Ford, and the show flashes forward to reveal what she makes of her career

Season 5 wraps up the show brilliantly, with Midge and Susie's relationship becoming the primary focus. Other characters like Joel don't appear in the scenes which flash forward, so their fate is a little ambiguous. Still, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's ending delivers on everything it needs to. Season 5 pushes Midge out of her comfort zone as she becomes a writer for the Gordon Ford show, which is similar to Johnny Carson's show and other late-night talk shows of the time. Throughout the season, the show jumps forward in time to reveal puzzle pieces of the future. The first episode even starts with the reveal that Midge eventually makes it big.

Season 5 starts off a little slowly, but it builds toward a great conclusion. Susie's roast and the series finale provide two of the show's best episodes overall, but the first half of the season brings down the average. Midge is all alone at her new job on the Gordon Ford show, so these episodes don't use her great dynamic with Susie or her parents. The musical is a strange departure too, and not one that adds much to the season's story. The other problem with season 5 is that the time jumps aren't always judged wisely. Some of the scenes in the 1970s and 1980s break up the rhythm of the show without many laughs.

3 Season 1

Midge's marriage to Joel crumbles, and she begins a career as a stand-up

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel starts out incredibly confidently. The first episode set up the arc for the entire series, with Susie seeing Midge's potential and taking her from a failed marriage toward comedy stardom. The first episode also gives a great introduction to The Marvelous Mrs Maisel's version of Lenny Bruce, the controversial comic who becomes Midge's first friend in her new lifestyle. The other major player in the entertainment industry in season 1 is Sophie Lennon, played by Jane Lynch. Lennon represents all the phony, hacky trash that Midge hates. She's successful, but not in a way that Midge aspires to.

Season 1 is a strong start for the show, even if it doesn't quite hit the heights that the show is capable of. There are plenty of brilliant episodes, particularly when the show focuses on Midge and Sophie's dynamic, but there are also one or two slower story lines. Season 1 could have benefited from spending less time on Midge and Joel's divorce. It's vital to the way both characters develop, but it isn't as riotously entertaining as Susie trying to learn a new business or Abe and Rose outright failling to comprehend their daughter's life choices. Luke Kirby's performance as Lenny is an immediate hit, making him the most captivating character from the outset.

2 Season 3

Midge goes on tour with Shy Baldwin, and Abe and Rose move in with the Maisels

Midge prioritizes opening for Shy Baldwin over her relationship with Benjamin, so it's a big deal when they start gearing up for their international tour. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel takes inspiration from real life for many of its characters, and Shy Baldwin is an amalgamation of a few suave singers, especially Harry Belafonte and Johnny Mathis. Season 3 also introduces Mei, played by Stephanie Hsu. Season 3 ends with one of the show's most shocking moments, as Midge is axed from Shy's tour after a poorly conceived joke at the Apollo lands her in trouble.

Season 3 carries on the great work of season 2, with Susie and Midge still finding their feet in the entertainment industry. They have to rely on each other simply because they can't trust anyone else, but there are times in season 3 where their story is eclipsed by more interesting plot lines from the show's ing characters. Joel's struggles to establish his club and his blossoming relationship with Mei go some way to redeeming his character. Elsewhere, Abe and Rose's patience is pushed to the limit when they are forced to move in with the Maisels. Every scene in the Maisel household is Tony Shalhoub's time to shine.

1 Season 2

After Rose and Abe return from Paris, the Maisels and Weissmans go to a holiday resort in the Catskills

Season 2 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel sees the show firing on all cylinders. The season can be crudely split into three main sections. First, Abe and Midge travel to Paris to find Rose and bring her home. Then, the Weissmans and the Maisels go on vacation at Steiner Mountain Resort in the Catskills, and finally they return to the city where Midge and Susie struggle to fit into the entertainment industry. Each of these three parts are incredibly strong for different reasons, and collectively they make the best season of the show. The fast-paced humor is at its very best, but the emotional stakes are just as compelling.

The episodes in the Catskills are an incredibly strong run for Mrs. Maisel, with Susie pretending to work there for free meals and Abe heaping unnecessary pressure onto the young man assigned to the family. Each of the main characters have great plot lines in season 2, especially Rose's trip to Paris and Abe realizing that his work is crushing him. Season 2 also introduces Zachary Levi as Benjamin, one of the show's great guest stars. He shares a wonderful rapport with Midge, but she puts her career first, reinforcing the show's themes of female empowerment. As usual, season 2 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ends in style, with a calamitous JFK fundraiser and Midge and Joel potentially reuniting.