Six months ago, very few people had heard of Rachel Brosnahan and Mrs Maisel

At a time when there's an abundance of chilling crime series, bleak conspiracy thrillers and dystopian dramas, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is like a welcome burst of sunshine. And laughter. Its depiction of late 1950s New York renders the city as a glowing fantasy world, recognisable but unashamedly romanticised.

The same goes for the evocation of Paris in the early episodes of its soon-to-arrive second season. The City of Light positively shines. The show's jewel-box colour palette is rich and vibrant, and the comedy appears perpetually poised to transform into a full-blown musical.

Rachel Brosnahan stars as Midge Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.

Which is not to say that there's anything indecisive about this distinctively original and typically fast-talking creation from Amy Sherman-Palladino, who previously gave us Gilmore Girls and Bunheads. Warm-hearted yet tough-minded, the first season swept the comedy categories at the Emmy Awards, nabbing Outstanding Comedy Series as well as historic wins in the writing and directing categories for Sherman-Palladino, the first woman to win both in the same year.

Her buoyant comedy charts the progress of Miriam "Midge" Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a vivacious Jewish American princess from the affluent Upper West Side, a wife and mother who surprises herself by stumbling on a talent for stand-up and resolving to carve out a career in comedy.

Alex Borstein (left) as Susie Myerson, and Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel in the original and fast-talking comedy.Credit: Nicole Rivelli

When we first met Midge in season one, she was busy being the perfect wife and mother, while priding herself on her brisket. She was so conscious of presenting a flawless facade that she went to bed wearing full make-up and waited for her husband, Joel (Michael Zegen), to fall asleep before creeping into the bathroom to remove it, so that even he didn't see her looking less than fabulous.

Then Joel informed her that he was abandoning their marriage to move in with his secretary. Devastated and drunk, Midge stumbled downtown and ended up blurting out her woes – with an acerbic and slightly profane spin – to the crowd at the Gaslight Cafe. It's the comedy club where Joel had hoped to make his mark and where Midge had dutifully delivered the aforementioned brisket in order to secure him a slot on the line-up.

A star was born. Well, not exactly, but Midge wowed the crowd – the baring of her breasts admittedly helped – and discovered her unique voice. She began to form a partnership with the Gaslight's gruff booker, Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein), who'd been around the comedy traps long enough to spot a talent. But Midge did not reveal the nascent career to her parents, Abe (Tony Shalhoub) and Rose (Marin Hinkle).

"Almost everything about Midge's life has changed," says Brosnahan, reflecting on the shift from season one to two. "She's waded into unchartered territory, but, at the core, she remains the same. She comes from a place of privilege and she's been raised to believe that, no matter what happens, everything will be OK. She doesn't know how to do anything less than 110 per cent, she has this innate sense of self-empowerment and joy and curiosity, and she really can't be broken.

Brosnahan says her character Midge Maisel 'has this innate sense of self-empowerment and joy and curiosity, and she really can't be broken'.Credit: Amazon

"She certainly doesn't represent every type of woman," she adds. "But she's the kind of woman that we haven't seen a lot on film or in television, so it's been a lot of fun to play her."

As anyone familiar with the work of Sherman-Palladino and her husband, writer, producer and director Daniel Palladino, will be aware, appearing in one of their shows requires tackling the daunting density and pace of the dialogue. With most TV shows, a page of dialogue translates to a minute of screen time. The scripts for Mrs Maisel's 50-minute episodes can run to 70 or 80 pages, so the actors need to talk fast.

"It's endlessly challenging and exhausting," says Brosnahan, who won the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. "But it's a welcome challenge when the material is as brilliant as theirs. We're all having a great time and that's not something that you can always say on a show that's as gruelling as this one to work on.

"We'll feel like we've finally got a handle on it, we'll run it and Amy will go, 'Great, great, pick up the pace'. Although I will say that I'm very proud of the fact that, once or twice, Amy has actually told me to slow down, which she's maybe never said to anyone, ever, and I wear it as badge of honour."

The zippy dialogue is coupled with a visual style that features long shots that enhance the sense of breezy momentum but complicate the logistics of production. "We do a lot of sweeping single shots that sometimes run over pages of dialogue," says Brosnahan. "It's very theatrical. Shots have to be heavily choreographed to make sure that everyone, the Steadicam operator and the key actors, the background actors and the props, is working in harmony. It's a bit like a dance. Amy says that she often uses dancers as background actors because of their understanding of timing and choreography."

While Mrs Maisel displays the Palladinos' signature style, Brosnahan has made Midge her own. The actor first gained widespread attention for her portrayal of ill-fated hooker Rachel Posner in the US version of House of Cards. The role was initially conceived by series creator Beau Willimon as a five-line guest spot. He's said that her performance "leapt off the screen", so he developed Rachel into a recurring character and Brosnahan earned her first Emmy nomination. She went on to a lead role in the sadly under-seen Cold War drama, Manhattan, as the wife of a scientist (Ashley Zukerman). She's currently working in London on the Cold War thriller, Ironbark, with Benedict Cumberbatch.

Back in Manhattan, Midge is endeavouring to make her mark in a field that's not exactly receptive to female participation. "Midge is still changing an enormous amount in season two," says Brosnahan. "In the first season, you watched her discover this voice that she didn't know she had; in season two, she's learning how to wield that voice and the kind of responsibility that comes with it. She's also learning a bit about the reality of the career path that she's chosen. While she has natural talent, it's not all sunshine and rainbows."

Maybe not, but it is likely to be wonderfully colourful.

WHAT The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

​WHEN Amazon Prime Video, season 2 from Wednesday.