Marvelous Mrs Maisel season three: A little bit sickly but so pleasurable

Not every TV show has to be a serious thinkpiece with dark hallways and hideous killers. Sometimes you just want some fairy floss.

Like fairy floss or creaming soda, Marvelous Mrs Maisel is a pink-coloured sweet confection – something delectable and frothy.

Its whipfast repartee and incredibly impressive production values have always made the Amazon Prime series, returning for its third season today, a delightful experience.

Something to enjoy, but in moderation – not quite guilty pleasure, but not quite not guilty pleasure.

It helped that the performances from the likes of Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle were magnetic and positively zingy.

It helped that creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and husband and creative collaborator Daniel Palladino have gifts for writing sharp dialogue.

And it helped that every frame of Marvelous Mrs Maisel, from the flattering lighting to the candy-coloured production design, is a cornucopic feast for the eyes.

Not quite guilty pleasure, but not quite not guilty pleasure

It was also a fantasy. Sure, Midge Maisel (Brosnahan) came across some obstacles, including a sexist 1950s society that didn’t take female comedians seriously (so much has changed, right?).

For someone who was an Upper West Side housewife 12 minutes ago, she’s gone remarkably far. Her husband cheated on her and left her, and while Joel (Michael Zegen) is the worst he’s not the WORST.

But for the most part, Midge has a really easy life, and a drool-worthy closet/room of clothes.

Written to be the most charming (and charmed) character that traps everyone in her charisma bubble, Midge can, for audiences, be, well, kind of annoying. Yes, it’s annoying that her life is a like a Rube Goldberg machine, everything just falling into place.

It wouldn’t be an Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls, Bunheads) if it didn’t.

Which is kind of surprising that season three appears to be more self-aware, which includes an early, frenzied scene in which Midge’s father, Abe (Shalhoub), points out in rapid-fire all the ways in which Midge is actually ridiculous.

It’s refreshing, and an on-screen acknowledgment of some of the flack the show has copped over the first two years.

Season three gives Susie more screentime

With that clarity, season three — at least the first few episodes made available for review — starts to pivot away from a Midge-centric universe to a better-balanced ensemble piece.

Borstein gets the meatiest screentime upgrade as Midge’s manager Susie, navigating the perilous waters of sending Midge off on a tour opening for crooner Shy Baldwin (Leroy McClain) while signing new client Sophie Lennon (Jane Lynch).

It’s not easy being a newbie agent with only two needy clients (who hate each other), one blazer and not even enough money to print off headshots.

Susie’s financial position, in stark contrast to the at least upper-middle-class glam of almost everyone else in Marvelous Mrs Maisel, is one of the most compelling elements of the series, and the show is smart to lean into it more.

It’s often played for laughs but there’s still an edge to it.

Abe and Rose are having a tougher ride

Meanwhile, Abe and Rose (Hinkle) find themselves in money woes after Abe quits his teaching job at Columbia. And Joel’s venture in Chinatown comes with unexpected complications.

Marvelous Mrs Maisel is like Gilmore Girls in many ways. It starts off with a bang, impresses and seduces you with its sheer likability, but then the flaws start to reveal themselves. Small, niggly things.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t forgive them to have a bloody great time with it. Like fairy floss or creaming soda – a little sickly, but so damn pleasurable. Go on, you deserve it.

Marvelous Mrs Maisel season three starts streaming today on Amazon Prime Video

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