Season 4 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has just started on Prime Video. A season full of changes and new challenges for the queen of laughter. Meeting with the team of the series.
What is season 4 about?
The season begins in 1960 and there is change in the air. Seeking to perfect herself, Midge finds a job that offers her total creative freedom. But her commitment to her art and where it can take her ends up driving a wedge between her, her family and her friends.
Meeting with Rachel Brosnahan (Midge Maisel), Alex Borstein (Susie Myerson), Tony Shalhoub (Abe Weissman), Kevin Pollak (Moishe Maisel), Michael Zegen (Joel Maisel), Luke Kirby (Lenny Bruce), Marin Hinkle (Rose Weissman) and Caroline Aaron (Shirley Maisel).
AlloCiné: The Fabulous Mrs. Maisel is undoubtedly one of the best series of the moment. How do you explain its success?
Rachel Brosnahan: I think there is a bit of everything, for all tastes. The Fabulous Mrs. Maisel is a series with so much beauty and love. The beauty of the costumes and colors. It is also this time travel through the 50s and 60s that makes the public dream. I also believe that the intensity and complexity of the relationships within this family and the relationships between these colorful characters make this series unique and moving. And of course, the journey of this young woman who forges a path with all her strength, courage and talent can only lead to admiration.
Alex Borstein: We are also fortunate to have the best group of producers, writers and directors in the business. From Amy Sherman-Palladino who created the series to all the other technicians behind the camera I am truly amazed by the level of excellence of everyone. It’s impossible to screw up with such a film crew.
Michael Zegen: Visually it’s a series that totally tears and it’s hard not to find yourself hypnotized by its beauty.
Luke Kirby: The entire creative team fights daily to deliver the most ambitious series possible. It is this effort that pays and explains why this series is so unique and appreciated by all.
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Marin Hinkle: I think it’s a matter of timing. We live in uncertain and fragile times, which sometimes persist. A series like this that has so much love and humor can only satisfy an audience in lack of oxygen. This show gives you a great breath of fresh air and joie de vivre. It’s irresistible.
Caroline Aaron: No doubt this is the series that best highlights and with as much beauty what a family is and what are the dynamics that reign there. It’s also because we see a young woman constantly fighting for her dreams. It gives hope and it inspires everyone who watches our series.
Tony Shalhoub: It’s all in the writing. It’s charming, funny, moving. All the ingredients are there to result in such a fantastic series. It’s the good humor that emerges from this show which I believe makes the public want to follow us, season after season.
Kevin Pollack: For me it’s really the result of a stroke of genius and pure luck. It’s so hard to explain this little miracle, except that everyone works with passion and courage and it clearly shows on the screen. Isn’t this the most beautiful series you’ve ever seen on screen? Haha!
Are the themes presented there also one of the reasons for this success, such as the highlighting of women and their success?
Rachel Brosnahan: I think it can only inspire young women who watch this series when they see female characters with so much ambition, strength, courage and who are, at the same time, far from perfect. It’s refreshing and very honest. I love that these women screw up sometimes but still have the faith to pick themselves up and fight until the end for what they really want to accomplish in their lives. I don’t think there are such women in other series, and especially taking place at the same time.
Alex Borstein: I love that this series is not yet a show about women wondering if they will find prince charming and the perfect love. I also like that humor plays an important role in it. We see a group of women who have many challenges to overcome. But in doing so, they do not forget to laugh and show a joy of life.
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What can we expect from this season, already the fourth?
Rachel Brosnahan: It’s a season where my character, Midge, and Susie, played by Alex, are in turmoil and anger. But this is how they know how to surpass themselves. They are at their best under extreme pressure. In this season they will go through a delicate phase: or all pass or all breakage.
They’ve been very successful so far, but now they need to learn how to rebuild themselves and rediscover their audience. I think all the characters are going through an existentialist moment this season where they’re forced to totally reinvent themselves and find a new path so they can exist in a stronger, more assertive way.
Alex Borstein: Susie, who I play, is trying to find new clients for her company. She is trying to grow. At the end of the third season, she realizes the fragility of her business, even if she believes 100% in Midge. He must therefore find other talents to coach and manage. Especially since Midge is so unpredictable and volatile.
Michael Zegen: Joel continues his intimate relationship with Mei and this will have an impact on his family and especially on Midge.
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Luke Kirby: My character Lenny’s relationship with Midge is strong and has improved season after season. Lenny is like a protective angel for her; that’s how I see it anyway. There is a kind of mutual attraction due to their similar artistic activity. So where can this relationship go?
Tony Shalhoub: Expect to see all of our characters going through a transition phase. Some will face new challenges and this alters their relationships with others. Others continue to search.
Kevin Pollack: Moishe, my character, tries to keep everything under his control. He tries to ensure that the family dynamic remains strong despite the various tensions that may arise. For him, what matters first is his family.
Caroline Aaron: You will see that all the characters in our series all encounter various difficulties but they will learn to face them and move forward with all the passion that inhabits them. As for my character, Shirley, she really has to hold on to life after her world fell apart in season three. Midge returns home and so it will also change the relationships between each character, everything becomes more explosive, but always full of humor and love.
Marin Hinkle: Rose, meanwhile, wonders about the state of her marriage, since her husband abandons his career. She thought she had a solid life and a secure future, but now everything is in question. What I like about this season is that despite the Covid, the series is more epic than ever with the same number of extras, if not more. The same number of magical and musical moments. It’s dazzling!
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Have you encountered any challenges with this season, other than filming with a severe Covid protocol?
Rachel Brosnahan: What has been a challenge for me has been testing different styles of comedy. You will see that Midge is letting herself go in a totally different creative direction of expression this season. Somehow she will feel liberated to no longer have limits to her artistic creativity.
Alex Borstein: This season is going to be emotionally difficult for my character. Putting yourself in the shoes of a character in a depressing phase is not always easy. It was a bit of a challenge this season for me. I also have the impression that the dialogues are rich and infinite this season. So it’s still complicated to learn your lines thoroughly and keep them in memory perfectly. This is to make our performance as smooth as possible.
Finally, what does this series represent for you?
Caroline Aaron: It’s a life lesson. How to pursue your dreams while having your life dedicated to your family. What a delicate balance. This series is an invitation to persevere and never give up. Despite all the blows you receive, you have to find the strength to get up and continue on your way.
Luke Kirby: I think that this represents, on the one hand, the progress that we have been able to make, in particular with the status of women, but also how, on the other hand, we have not necessarily progressed as well as we could have done , as with the issue of racism in society.
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Rachel Brosnahan: For me, it’s a series that shows that you can live up to your ambitions. It is also, in a way, a mirror of what our society is. It’s a series that shows that in life anything is possible, as long as you keep fighting and smiling at the same time.
Alex Borstein: This series shows that our lives are linked to our past but that we must always project ourselves into the future in order to transform and reinvent ourselves. It is a window on the future and the past, simultaneously. This proves that we come a long way in society, especially with the status of women; but we still need to go further to achieve a fairer and more equitable world.