Rachel Brosnahan, star of the Prime Video series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, reveals the direction of the story heading into season 4. The comedy-drama show created by Amy Sherman-Palladino premiered in 2017 and has received critical acclaimed throughout its first three seasons, winning multiple Primetime Emmys in various categories. After having last dropped new episodes in December of 2019, a pandemic-delayed season 4 is set to become available to stream on February 18.
The 1950s and '60s-set The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel primarily follows Brosnahan's Midge, who, after publicly ranting one night about her husband's affair, decides to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. Other primary characters include Midge's manager Susie (Alex Borstein), estranged husband Joel (Michael Zengen), parents Rose (Marin Hinkle) and Abe (Tony Shalhoub), and in-laws Shirley (Caroline Aaron) and Moishe (Kevin Pollack). While each of the characters have their own struggles, they are all affected by Midge's fledgling career, often struggling to come to terms with the realities of her new life.
Now, during an appearance with The Late Late Show with James Corden, Brosnahan gives fans a glimpse into her character's headspace following her disastrous firing as the opening act of singer Shy Baldwin's (Leroy McClain) tour. Giving a run-down of Midge's progression through the previous seasons, the American actor notes that trying to follow the conventional career path hasn't worked out so well for the protagonist, but rather than leaving her feeling defeated, Midge becomes more determined to be herself. This insistence on being true to her own voice, Brosnahan says, has consequences for those around her as well:
So, we left the end of last season with Midge on the tarmac, she's really screwed up, and she's been left by Shy Baldwin, we kind of pick back up right there. And really this is a season about... you know, in season 1, we found Midge at rock bottom. She stumbled into this career as a comedian, she mostly just had a series of long breakdowns that were very funny on stage. She began to hone her craft and figure out how to perform for different audiences, and then, you know, I think her feeling is it didn't work out so well for her. So this is a season about her sort of digging into who she is, and not apologizing for her own voice, deciding that she is her best when she is herself. And that's sort of a ripple-effect that effects all the other characters this season.
Midge will certainly have to spend the first few episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 4 picking up the pieces from the season 3 finale. After having learned that Shy is secretly gay, she is told by his manager, Reggie (Sterling K. Brown), to do material about him to his hometown crowd, not knowing that she had been let in on the secret. When she makes jokes that threaten to out him, Reggie informs her at the airport that she won't be boarding their plane, effectively killing whatever momentum she had managed to gather in her career.
A The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 4 trailer has also revealed that Midge's parents will be moving in with her, which will surely be another source of stress. However, Brosnahan's description of Midge's headspace suggest she won't spend the season wallowing in her current situation, which should be encouraging for fans. Whatever the storyline, though, viewers will probably just be excited to see more of the series after such a long hiatus.