Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 5 Episode 7 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.We are now deep into the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The period comedy-drama follows the life of the titular Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) who goes from becoming a housewife in the late 1950s to becoming a stand-up comic in New York. Her bawdy and irreverent humor makes her a hit to her audiences, but given the time period, not everyone in her family is thrilled about her career choices. In the fifth season, we see the conclusion of Midge’s story, as well as a flash forward in time where we see how the rest of the lives of the Maisels and Weissman play out.
We spoke with Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle about the final season. Shalhoub and Hinkle play Midge’s parents, Abe and Rose Weissman, respectively. This season, their story focuses on different aspects of Abe and Rose’s life. With Abe, we look at his relationship with his grandchildren, specifically with his granddaughter Esther. Abe, the consummate intellectual, is delighted to learn that his granddaughter is a genius. Meanwhile, Rose continues to struggle with her matchmaking business this season, but in the flash forward we see her career has flourished. Or has it?
In “A House Full of Extremely Lame Horses“, in the flash forward, we learn that Rose’s business as a matchmaker is bleeding a lot of money from future Midge’s account, so much so that it would simply be easier to pay her a salary. But Midge is set on making her mother happy for whatever time she has left. We also talked generally about the series, their experiences on the show, and the filmic quality of the series. Check out our full interview in the video above or read it below!
COLLIDER: I’m just going to jump right into it, and I’ll start with you, Tony. So Abe goes on a wild journey this season, especially when it comes to his grandkids. I won’t go into too many specifics, but that was one of my favorite storylines of the show. Did you have a specific arc or storyline that you really enjoyed filming over the last few seasons for Abe?
TONY SHALHOUB: I’ve enjoyed the whole of Abe’s arc, from beginning to end, because every season sees him going through some kind of large transition. And, for me, just as an actor, seeing where he started in the pilot and where he ends up at the end of five, it’s a long, circuitous, crazy journey, a journey of self-discovery and revelations, and ultimately making peace with embracing these changes in his life. I love that. I love the challenge of that as an actor.
And then Marin, getting a glimpse into Rose’s life, and especially not just what we see in the current timeline, but looking at her life in full, what was your reaction to reading those scenes and getting to film those moments without getting into too many details?
MARIN HINKLE: I was really, really touched by the notion of caretaking that Midge has for her mom. I mean, they had a complicated, to say the least, relationship, right? And she was always asking for her mother’s approval and respect, and then at the end, she’s basically kind of distorting the truth and letting her mom believe that she’s got a very successful business. That’s kind of amazing, and just was dropped in, like there’s one line about it, right? The way Amy and Dan do that, where you kind of have to stop, rewind, and be like, “What just happened? What did she just say? She’s gonna die, she’s not well, she’s going away,” and yet, the business we thought was so successful wasn’t.
So, I was really taken by that. And of course, Amy and Dan were running through into the next episodes, and I wanted to stop them– in fact, we’re gonna be all together in the next week, and I’m gonna say, “Hey, talk to me more about Rose’s life. Tell me what else happened!” But I’m deeply intrigued by this woman I got to play, and she still feels like this other person that I want to know more of. So that’s one of the reasons it’s hard to say goodbye is, there’s so much that still surprises me about her.
I feel like there are so many layers to Rose that keep getting revealed, and there’s still so much to dig into, so I agree with you on that point.
You guys have had a great run with this series. I think it’s just it’s one of the best shows on television right now. In my opinion, I think the writing is fantastic, the acting is fantastic. With it being over, is there a specific aspect of this show that you guys are going to miss? And Tony, I’ll start with you on that one.
SHALHOUB: Oh, I’m gonna miss it all. The writing was just sublime, week in and week out. Working with this ensemble, working with this crew… For me, I think more than anything is, being in a story in this time period. I love this time period to work in, without cell phones and computers. It interests me, it’s fun to look at it. I love the design elements of the clothes, the props, the furniture, all of that, being transported into that universe. That’s the part I think I’m gonna miss the most.
HINKLE: You know, any show I work on, or any play I get to do, any kind of anything to do with being an artist and actor, has its own unique, great aspects. Thinking about your great question, [with] this one there was a little bit of awe in the room at all moments. Truly.
SHALHOUB: Awww.
HINKLE: We would have read-throughs in which it would be, like, still afterward, or maybe everybody would be uproariously applauding, but nothing was done in a small and casual, flippant way. Attention must be paid. Caroline [Aaron] was telling me that Dan had said Palladino had said something about, like, comedy is thought, sometimes, to be not beautiful, or something. And instead, they wanted to make sure– in other words, when you shoot it, “Just have the faces and let’s show everybody as funny, funny,” but they wanted it to be filmmaking, like a Scorsese film, and that’s how we were treating it on set. Like, we’re gonna get to be a part of something–
SHALHOUB: Yeah, there wasn’t a moment of cynicism, or of anyone feeling jaded, like, “It’s just a job.” It was never just a job.
HINKLE: Not for anyone.
SHALHOUB: Which, for some jobs, frankly, it just is. It’s like, “Get through it, it’s a job, let’s do our work, we’re in 100%, but it’s a job.” This was never like that. This was special every day.
HINKLE: And you’d get the scripts and there wouldn’t be that much that would change. It was so right.
SHALHOUB: Well-crafted.
HINKLE: So well-crafted, and in the read-through it was that good. Remember, we were told that sometimes people who would come to the read-throughs would be like, “That was a performance that just happened. We were going to see a Broadway show, or what have you.” So, I’ll miss that. I’ll miss that. It was like, and I don’t mean larger-than-life in a big old broad way, it just was better than life, usually, sometimes [laughs].
SHALHOUB: Heightened, it was heightened.
It definitely feels that way when I’m watching it. There’s definitely this sort of film quality that I don’t feel like I get a lot with television, so it’s so interesting to hear you guys say that and confirm my thoughts. I just want to thank you guys so much for speaking with me on this because I really enjoyed this final season and I can’t wait for everybody to watch it. It’s a great way to end the show.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel‘s final episode streams this Friday on Prime Video.
