Amazon recently released a new pilot called The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and it’s set on the Upper West Side in 1958. The show, from Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, is already getting strong buzz from critics, though it’s not clear if it will be picked up for a full series. We won’t spoil the plot, but here are a few things critics have said.
“For the most part, this is a series that’s as confident as its heroine—and what a heroine she is,” the AV Club reviewer writes. “Midge is already layered, conflicted, hilarious, and charming. She’s captivating and Amazon would do well to recognize that and let her flourish.
It also features several Jewish themes, notes TV Guide.
“And did we mention that this show is really Jewish? From the language they use to the food they cook to the important role Judaism — both the religious rituals and the spiritual themes — play in Midge’s life and in the show’s plot, it’s delightfully refreshing to see a show that is so unapologetically Jewish.”
Watch it here and be sure to give Amazon feedback as they decide whether to extend it.
And if you were living here in the 50’s let us know if it’s accurate!
Where is that storefront? Looks like West Village.
It’s 238 Elizabeth Street. Amazingly, Ephemeral New York just had an article about this storefront (and another one across the street) just a couple of weeks ago.
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/elizabeth-streets-old-school-meat-market-signs/
a show set in the 1950’s upper west side should include murray’s stureon shop. they openned their doors in 1946, in the exact location they are in now. that’s authentic
Watch The Goldbetgs on JLTV. Very authentic.
Really really enjoyed this – fun characters and well developed plot line – hoping it catches on
there would be no ham at the butcher.
The prices shown in the window are anachronistic– much too high for the 1950’s. Or most of the 1960’s.
meat prices way too high.
“Fancy Geese”
“Mutton”
Now there’s something you hardly see in shops nowadays.
*LOL*
Do you mention the Tip Toe Inn at 86th Street and Broadway? It was always the best restaurant in the neighborhood to get good Jewish cooking. Also, Flora Mir and Loft’s candy shops, not to mention the Louis Lichtman bakery at 86th & Amsterdam Avenue.
In 1955 Mom sat down after Thanksgiving dinner and totaled up the cost of the meal. Complete turkey dinner with all the usual requirements and dessert for 6 adults (and two cats). $4.50. These prices are way off the charts. They need Matt Weiner to do a late 50’s reality check for them.
This “Pilot” should NEVER fly!
It’s “set on the Upper West Side in 1958”??
REALLY? Actually it seems set on some ordinary sound stage used by most sit-coms. It would have us believe that this particular ‘young married couple’ lives in the San Remo or the Beresford (judging by the brief establishing-shot of a twin-towered high rise) with the bride’s parents living in the same building).
Otherwise there are zero references to the UWS…or to any real place in 1950’s NYC, since obtaining such footage would be nearly impossible.
The set-designers created a make-believe “entrance” to The Gaslight Café, where the bride’s second-banana, her vapidly boyish husband, aspires to shed his office job (another generic set) and become … ready? …a stand-up comic.
Of course, as Wikipedia notes, The Gaslight was the place where “Beat” poets like Ginsburg appeared, and then musicians…but seldom bad comedians who steal from other comics, as does the bride’s spouse.
With his gag-reflex climbing to “11” this viewer turned-off the telly after 40 minutes of such drivel.
Hopefully this is one “Pilot” that will soon “go west” (aviation’s euphemism for dying).
Actually, those prices seem perfectly in line with what is shown at this web site, which shows chicken selling at 43 cents per pound and lamb chops at 49 cents per pound in New Hampshire in 1950:
https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50sfood.html
Everyone knows that the high price of geese back then was Wagner’s fault.
My wife and I just saw it. Loved it!