What ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ can teach you about living your best life

In March 2017, Amazon Prime unveiled The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The show has delighted critics and audiences alike – the award-winning show currently holds a lofty 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It doesn’t look like the momentum of the series is slowing down anytime soon. Back in May, the show won the prestigious Audience Award at the Series Mania Festival in Lille, France.

There are many aspects of the show that stand out – it’s a bold commentary on feminism and the place of the female in American society, it’s got a toe-tappingly good soundtrack, and it boasts a fantastic supporting cast. However, its the protagonist Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) who really brings the show to life. Midge is a totally modern gal – here are all the ways you can live as your best self by emulating Midge.

Reinvent yourself

At first, Midge is completely blindsided by her new status as a single woman, but she very quickly focuses her energy into becoming self-sufficient. It doesn’t matter that Midge’s struggle takes place in 1958 – her problems can apply to modern women (divorcees or not). By embracing her passion and her love of comedy, she finds the key to her own personal happiness.

Stay true to yourself

Throughout the show, Midge is pressured into being someone that she’s not. She ultimately realizes that being herself is her greatest asset of all. You do you gang!

Be unapologetic

Above all, Midge is entirely unapologetic for who she is, and she embraces her womanhood in a masculine world. Even after being taken to court for public indecency, she pushes back against the idea that women should behave and act in a certain way.

This sort of unapologetic pride in one’s work extends to showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino. She talked to Script Magazine about the show’s determined protagonist and how she manages to maintain control over the narratives. “We have complete creative control. That’s the only way we’ve done things ever”, she said. “We had complete creative control over Gilmore Girls because they kind of forgot we were there.”

Sherman-Palladino also discussed how important it was to stay true to the show’s roots. “You got to keep remembering why you love the project in the first place”, she added. “The deeper down the rabbit hole you go, the more people that chime in, the more people who have ideas, good, bad or indifferent, you got to keep remembering why you love the project… We talked about the layered characters in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which each of the actors with whom I interviewed, marveled and admired”.

Staying true

Executive producer Daniel Palladino told Script Magazine that he and Sherman-Palladino have had to have difficult conversations with Amazon executives regarding content. “There are a lot of hurdles. Stay true to your core”, he advised. “Even if they (executives) are happy, the audience won’t like it. They’ll sniff it out. The audience has the final say.”

Mrs. Maisel star Alex Borstein told Vulture that she had been friends with the Palladinos prior to the show, and that their pre-existing relationship helped them develop a shorthand for the character. “We have a shorthand, being friends with them and trusting them for 20 years”, the actress revealed. “Amy doesn’t have to wear kid gloves around me. She could just be like, ‘You’re doing something weird with your face there, stop it’. We can be callous with each other, which is kind of fun.”

“There’s always moments within scenes where I disagree, but in terms of the grand scheme of who Susie is, no, we’re on the same page”, Borstein added. “My biggest worry is I want to make sure she’s not just the same brash. I want to try to color it with some vulnerability, because otherwise you’re just an a**hole.”