The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season five – the last ever chapter of the much-loved period comedy show – lands on our screens tomorrow.
The Prime Video series has been a palpable hit; it has won three Golden Globes and seven Emmys (and picked up dozens of other accolades), and the critics loved it just as much as the fans: The Times called the show, “stagey, camp and clever, and fluffy and pink, and feminist”, The Independent called it, “absorbing viewing” and The Guardian said its fourth season returned “on ferocious form”.
So if you’d quite like to start watching the show now, but you don’t fancy going back through the entire series, or if you’re struggling to remember the finer points and could do with a refresher, here’s our breakdown of what’s happened so far, so you’re ready to dive right into the show on April 14.
The general premise
Set in the Fifties and the Sixties, the show focuses on Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a young Jewish stay-at-home mum, who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Her husband, Joel, performs at The Gaslight Café (which was a real-life coffeehouse in Greenwich Village, which ran from 1958 to 1971). Joel secretly wants to be a professional comic, but he’s not very good. After a particularly bad set Joel, all in a strop, leaves Midge and ends up taking off with his secretary.
But this tragedy for Midge has a silver lining: she gets drunk, ends up stumbling onto the stage at The Gaslight, performing and being rather good. The Gaslight’s irascible manager, Susie Meyerson, spots her talent and starts to mentor her.
Season one
Comedy
Season one, then, is all about Susie’s attempts to turn Midge into a comic (initially she’s a bit reluctant).
Midge starts performing at The Gaslight. There’s a court appearance (because, at the end of her drunken debut monologue she shows the audience her breasts), but Joel pays Midge’s fine (despite being rather broke). Midge gets a job at B. Altman’s cosmetics counter, but is still performing at The Gaslight in the evenings. She’s talented, but it’s not all plain sailing: a couple of Midge’s sets absolutely flop, and she hires comedy writer Herb Smith (Wallace Shawn) to help her out. This doesn’t work out and his jokes end up being even worse than her own.
Midge begins to perform at friends’ parties and meets more people who can help her career, including comic Randall (Nate Corddry). But Susie thinks the free gigs aren’t a good idea, believing that Midge should be focusing on comedy as an actual career option.
Midge talks to a new agent, Susie finds out and Midge apologises. After this episode the duo solidify their collaboration: Midge agrees to take comedy more seriously, and the duo start to develop their relationship (Midge wants to befriend, Susie wants to keep things professional).
Meanwhile, Susie gets Midge to open for renowned comedian Sophie Lennon, but Midge discovers the celebrated comic to be a real phony, someone who literally wears a fat suit on stage to project a fake persona. Midge decides to expose Sophie and rips into her during a set causing a wave of drama in the New York comedy scene and angering Sophie’s agent Harry Drake.
Then, in the finale of the season Midge ends up performing as the opening act for Lenny Bruce (thanks to Susie’s persuasive powers), and she does so under the name Mrs. Maisel. Unbeknown to Midge, Joel is watching. He gets upset by her disparaging comments about their marriage, and storms out.
Family
While all this is going on there’s a lot of family drama which involves the parents of both Midge and Joel (this is a Jewish family in late-Fifties America, after all). So there are Midge’s parents Abe and Rose Weissman, who are obviously upset about the marriage breakdown. Plus her in-laws, Moishe and Shirley Maisel.
Moishe and Shirley and Joel come to dinner to discuss the marriage breakdown (poor Midge), which gets more awkward when Midge finds out that Joel is broke and that their apartment, which she thought Joel owned, actually belongs to his parents.
Abe buys half of Midge and Joel’s apartment off Moishe (both fathers are hoping that their kids will get back together). Joel does actually try to get back with Midge, but she’s not having it. Midge moves in with her parents, after Moishe evicts Midge. At the same time, no one knows about Midge’s secret life as a stand-up comic.
Personal matters continue to be chaotic: Penny Pann, Joel’s new girlfriend and his former secretary meet Joel’s parents, but they don’t think she’s a good match for their son. Then, during one particularly awkward evening Joel and Penny are dining in the same restaurant as Midge and her extended family, who are out celebrating her dad’s promotion.
Joel eventually breaks up with Penny and gets a big promotion. Joel and Midge end up sort of getting back together, having sex during their son’s birthday party. But just as things are looking positive for the couple, Joel hears a recording of Midge’s first ever set – remember, the one where she ripped into her husband because she was furious at him. He gets upset and quits his job (a real level-headed one, is Joel).
Season two
Comedy
Susie gets nabbed by two rather dodgy fellows, who have been sent by Harry Drake, who is still seething over Midge’s takedown of Sophie. However, Susie manages to charm her way out of the predicament by making friends with them, bonding over the fact that they’re from the same part of town.
Midge lands a new gig at a comedy club but her slot gets bumped to the very end of the night. Nevertheless, she ends up smashing her set. Record store owners Virgil and Oz have been selling bootleg versions of Midge’s first ever gig at The Gaslight, and when Susie finds out she’s furious.
Then the Weissmans all go on holiday to the Catskill Mountains in New York state. Susie follows them over there believing that a long break really isn’t great for Midge’s career, and she she starts to look around for gigs for her client. She succeeds and Midge performs a show; Abe ends up being in the audience – whoops – and so discovers his daughter’s secret career. He agrees to keep mum.
Susie and Midge go on a short comedy tour which isn’t as easy as it sounds – it’s very much a man’s world. Midge manages to land a TV show appearance, which she’s very excited about, but Sophie Lennon, of all people, is also performing and using her influence Lennon bumps Midge’s slot to the end of the night. Once again, Midge is able to make it work and wows the audience that stick around for her set.
Then, seeing how much Susie does for Midge, Sophie asks Susie to become her manager too. In the final episode a star singer, Shy Baldwin, hires Midge as his opening act for his major, six-month tour in the US and Europe. Whoopee.
Family
Rose flees to Paris because she’s unhappy, so at the very beginning of the series, Abe and Midge follow her over to the city of love. After initially putting her foot down and refusing to return to Manhattan, Abe is able to persuade his wife to come home.
When she’s in Paris, Midge calls Joel and talks about potentially getting back together, but he says she’d have to give up her comedy career for that – he can’t handle her onstage jibes – so she quickly rescinds her offer.
Meanwhile, Joel discovers that some of his dad’s business practices are not exactly perfect. Then Joel finds an apartment he’d like to buy for Midge and their children – he thinks Midge shouldn’t have to work – she, obviously, declines.
Penny comes into B. Altman where Midge is still working, and makes such a commotion that she gets Midge demoted.
Rose gets a gig auditing art classes at Columbia, and Joel starts looking into his mum’s “treasure maps” which show spots where the older Maisels have apparently been hiding cash over the years.
Joel and the Maisels also go on holiday to the Catskill Mountains, the go-to holiday spot for some New Yorkers in the late Fifties and the Sixties.
Midge’s parents turn matchmaker and try to set her up with an eligible doctor, Benjamin Ettenberg. Midge holds out, but, perhaps they are onto something because later Midge starts to date Ettenberg.
Abe discovers his son, Noah, actually works for a government agency. Midge starts to spend more time in New York’s very elite art world, having been introduced to the scene by Ettenberg.
During Yom Kippur dinner Midge tells her family about her stand up career. Talk about mic drop. Joel’s dad offers his son a whopping $60,000 to leave the family business – he wants to see his son pursue something he really loves.
Ettenberg asks Abe for consent to marry Midge (although she is still legally married to Joel). Abe, rather than jumping for joy, wants to know more about the doctor’s personal details.
Season three
Comedy
Season 3 opens with Midge and Susie arriving at an army base for their first Shy Baldwin show.
Midge finds out that Susie is also representing Sophie and she’s initially furious before realising that Susie must be making almost no money with her as her only client. Susie meets Shy Baldwin’s manager Reggie. Joel and Midge finally, legally, get a divorce.
Shy and Midges are then in Las Vegas, but Midge’s New York material doesn’t land over in Nevada’s capital. Tremendously disappointed, Midge then gives a second set in the hotel’s bar area which goes much better. After this experience, Midge alters her act, making it more suitable for a Las Vegas audience. Afterwards, Shy and some of the women on the tour head to the Nevada desert.
Susie’s trying to get Sophie a gig on Broadway, Joel visits Midge in Las Vegas, and yes, you guessed it, they accidentally get married one very drunken night.
Next up Shy’s tour takes Midge and Susie to Miami Beach. Midge and Lenny Bruce have an almost romantic evening but things end platonically. Meanwhile, Susie heads off to New York to support Sophie who has landed her first Broadway show.
Midge finds out that Shy is gay but promises to keep this a secret as his sexuality could jeopardise (read: end) his career. During a short break in the tour, Midge heads back home and has some radio gigs.
Susie has a sports gambling habit which is now becoming more severe. She manages to pay off her gambling debts by secretly using all of Midge’s earnings from the Shy Baldwin tour. Then, to try and get her money back, along with her sister Tess, she sets her deceased mother’s house on fire so that she can use the insurance money.
Sophie’s Broadway performance bombs as she gets stage fright, abandons her script and ends up giving an impromptu stand-up set. And that’s the end of her Broadway career, for now.
Then in the finale of the season, Midge and Shy are performing at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater. Midge is seriously nervous and Reggie suggests she uses her experiences on tour with Shy as her material for the gig.
Midge does, and smashes the show, but in doing so makes several jokes that come close to outing Shy. Afterwards, Reggie is so furious about her recklessness that he fires Midge.
Family
Joel thinks he might know what he wants to do with his Dad’s $60,000 - he’s interested in running a nightclub and he has his eyes on a potential venue in Chinatown. He finds out that there’s an illegal Chinese gambling den downstairs, but decides to go ahead with renting the space.
Rose tells Abe that all this time their lifestyle has been supplemented by her trust fund allowance. She heads to Oklahoma to ask her family to increase her allowance, but there’s a massive fight because they won’t let her have a seat on the board (because she’s a woman) and it’s so bad that they cut her off.
Meanwhile Abe makes some new leftist friends. Midge ends her engagement to Ettenberg.
The landlords of the nightclub in Chinatown try and bribe Joel to ignore the gambling downstairs, using translator Mei Lin.
Abe no longer works for Columbia university, which means the Weissmans have to leave their apartment where they have been living for years – the university owns it.
Abe and Rose stay at the Maisels’ new house in Queens while they are finding a new place, but, as could be predicted, both parties quickly start grating on each other.
Mei is now dating Joel. Abe is hanging out more with his leftist friends and becoming a bit of an activist. He and his group are releasing a newspaper, but Abe’s being a control freak about it which is exasperating his friends.
Midge’s parents go to visit Midge while she is in Miami and they watch her act. Abe goes to visit his friend Asher Friedman who was all but blacklisted for his Communist Party connections a decade earlier, and Abe is incised to write an article about what actually happened. The New York Times picks up Abe’s article and Abe is obviously thrilled.
Later, Abe gets splattered by tomatoes by angry readers, but he is somewhat pleased that his article has managed to get through to people. Then The Village Voice (which was a real news and culture paper for New Yorkers, founded in 1955) offers him the job of theatre critic.
The family attend the bris of Noah and Astrid’s baby. Moishe sells his half of Midge’s old apartment back to her.
Season four
Comedy
Midge, furious about being dropped from the tour, and embarrassed as the news is reported on in the newspapers, starts venting her anger on stage. She asks Susie for her tour money, as she really needs it now, but of course, Susie can’t give it to her.
Susie has a whole world of drama to deal with regarding the insurance, as the insurance agent becomes suspicious about the fire’s origin. To try and smooth over matters, Susie gets her sister to sleep with the agent. She borrows money from Joel to pay back Midge. Later, Susie does, finally, get the insurance money and pays back Joel.
Midge starts working as a stand up again, but this time is focused on making a name for herself, rather than supporting someone else. Sophie has been at a mental health facility since the Broadway fiasco, but still won’t let go of the management contract with Susie.
Susie and Midge go to the Wolford, a burlesque club. In a stroke of luck, the club’s emcee announces it’s his last night and Midge successfully elbows her way in and replaces him. She ends up doing extremely well at Wolfords, and so of course, Susie tries to wangle a pay increase. Susie also hires a new secretary, Dinah.
Sophie asks Susie to restart her career and Susie manages to get Sophie a gig on a national TV show called The Gordon Ford Show. Sophie wins over the audience when she’s interviewed by Ford and Midge wants to replicate her success.
Later, Susie has created the perfect set up for her clients: Sophie hosts a game show and Midge is her warm-up act. But Midge charms the audience so much that Sophie ends up butting in, making for extremely awkward viewing.
Midge performs at a JFK campaign event, but the set doesn’t go well as she makes jokes about cheating husbands which Jackie O, unsurprisingly, doesn’t like.
Lenny Bruce visits Midge and says she may have the opportunity to replace him as the warm-up act to Tony Bennett’s show at the Copacabana. The duo end up having sex, but while at his hotel room, Midge finds an injection vial and a syringe. Lenny plays it down.
Family
Midge has now returned to live in her apartment but despite the Shy tour she’s incredibly broke. Abe and Rose, who are still homeless, also move in.
Shirley tries to set up Joel. Abe is still working at The Village Voice and gives his first pay check to Midge to help her as she’s still struggling to make end’s meet. Jackie, an employee at The Gaslight and Susie’s flatmate, suddenly dies, and so Susie also temporarily moves in with Midge as she’s too upset to be alone at the apartment. Frankie and Nicky manage to find Susie a place to live which can also be used as an office space.
Mei doesn’t want to meet Joel’s parents, then agrees, but then cancels again.
One of Abe’s theatre reviews has caused some issues because he writes abouts two young anarchists vandalising a federal building which causes the FBI to take interest in him. Lawyer Michael Kessler assures Abe that there’s no case against him. Asher Friedman comes for dinner and during their conversation, Abe is painfully reminded that Asher and Rose were once an item.
Abe, still mad about Asher dating Rose, implicates Asher in another anarchist incident.
Midge takes Susie to a lesbian club thinking she could do with some company – arguably a very clunky move – which obviously annoys Susie.
Shy Baldwin is getting married and Midge turns up – Shy had no idea she was coming. Shy has a new team (Reggie was fired) and they offer her a truck load of money to sign a non-disclosure agreement about his sexuality. Midge declines.
Rose has been working on a matchmaking business, but she’s worried about how Midge’s career might affect it. She also goes to see her daughter perform at Wolfords. Later, a rival group of matchmakers put pressure on her to quit and they even put pressure on Rose via Abe. But Rose won’t back down. She loves to matchmake! Abe, who is now writing a book, hires Imogen as his typist.
Midge finds Lenny Bruce passed-out drunk and so she takes him home. But he disappears as soon as he wakes up. Meanwhile, Mei is pregnant, and tells Joel. Then, revenue of Joel’s club is stolen.
Midge, Abe, Rose, Noah and Astrid all go to see an illusionist act. During the show, Rose gets hypnotized and she acts out Midges Walford’s set — making Midge realise that her mum must have seen one of her sets.
Joel finally tells his dad about him and Mei which shocks Moishe so much he has a heart attack. Happily, Moishe recovers, but when he does he speaks to Joel and says that Mei needs to convert to Judaism before he tells his mother about her.
Season five expectations
Season five is set to see Midge get even closer to her career goals. But it doesn’t look like it’s going to be an easy route to the top.
“Midge finds herself closer than ever to the success she’s dreamed of, only to discover that closer than ever is still so far away,” said Amazon in their logline.
Speaking about the fact that it’s the final season, showrunner Sherman-Palladino said to Glamour that, “The minute that we found out that was the path forward, we really took a lot of time and a lot of care to make sure that we stick the landing because the most important thing to me is to make sure that Midge gets the send-off and the full treatment that she deserves.”
She added, “We will give you a lot of bang for your buck. We’re taking a really long time etching out these episodes. We’re trying to do some fun stuff that maybe people won’t really expect from us because we don’t do this kind of stuff a lot.
“We’re trying to savour every minute because this show is not going to happen again.”
