Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!
Kyle’s Choice
Earlier this year, Amazon released the pilot for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as part of its spring pilot season. The episode got rave reviews, and the series was picked up a month later for 2 seasons. Early today, Amazon dropped the entire first season exclusively for Prime members (non-Prime members can still check out the pilot). Set in New York City in 1958, the series follows 26-year-old housewife Miriam “Midge†Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan, House of Cards), whose life seems so perfect, just before it comes crashing down. Her husband Joel (Michael Zegen, Rescue Me) is a successful businessman by day and struggling comedian by night. The couple has two children – 3-year-old Ethan and a new baby girl. Midge is the portrait of a perfect housewife, maintaining the home and supporting her husband is his career and comedic aspirations. However, one night after bombing at a comedy club, Joel announces to Miriam that he’s leaving her for his secretary. Miriam drowns her sorrows in alcohol and, in her inebriated state, ends up on the stage at the comedy club. Shedding her prim and proper exterior, Miriam lets loose and instantly wins over the crowd, but her lewd behavior and crude language attracts the attention of the local authorities. However, club manager/wannabe agent Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein, Family Guy, Getting On) sees potential in Midge and wants to help her launch a stand-up career.
The series comes from Gilmore Girls creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and husband Daniel Palladino, and even though this highly-serialized series is a period comedy/drama, it shares a lot in common with the Palladinos’ previous series. It centers around a young single(ish) mother dealing with her disappointed parents – always-irritated father, mathematics professor Abe (Tony Shalhoub, Monk) and more-supportive but overprotective mother Rose (Marin Hinkle). The family’s apartment in the Upper West Side is quite stately, and they have a maid – not unlike the Gilmores’ Connecticut home. Characters are constantly breaking into rapid-fire banter, and while there aren’t any troubadours, the Palladinos have still managed to weave musical performances in throughout the episodes. Even though the series is set in New York City, it still manages to capture a small-town feeling at times.
The series is really well written, with interesting characters, witty dialogue, some great character drama and development, and some fun recurring jokes. Rachel Brosnahan is charming in the lead role, even when she’s cursing like a sailor. And the supporting cast is also a lot of fun, especially Tony Shaloub and Alex Borstein. Other actors that pop up in the first few episodes include Kevin Pollak (Angel from Hell) and Caroline Aaron (Episodes) as Joel’s parents, Luke Kirby (Rectify) as comedian Lenny Bruce, and Max Casella (Doogie Howser, M.D.) as a lawyer. I checked out the first four episodes and could have easily watched more if that had been made available. I look forward to checking out the rest of the season on Amazon!
I’ll also be watching/recording The Goldbergs, Speechless, Modern Family, American Housewife, Designated Survivor, Survivor, Riverdale, Vikings, MythBusters, and Mr. Robot.
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