Writer, showrunner, creator of 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'
Writer, showrunner, creator of 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'
PROFILE
Amy Sherman-Palladino
FROM Amy Sherman-Palladino
The Business
Amy Sherman-Palladino & Daniel Palladino on 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' The Amazon series ‘ The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ’ opens with the perfectly coiffed, newly married Mrs. Miriam Maisel--played by Rachel Brosnahan--standing at a microphone at her wedding reception, exuberant and in love. Mrs. Maisel is thus launched into what she thinks is her dream life: she’s the perfect 1950s wife and mother with a beautiful Upper West Side apartment and a stunning wardrobe. She loyally stands by her husband Joel, who works a desk job during the day as he tries to launch a comedy career at night. But Miriam Maisel’s world suddenly falls apart when Joel announces that he is leaving her for his secretary. A stunned--and drunk--Mrs. Maisel hops the subway downtown in her nightgown and finds herself onstage at the club where her husband had tried to make a name for himself. As she shares her tale of woe, mrs. Maisel does not realize that she is about to alter the course of her life. The creator of ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ is Amy Sherman-Palladino, who also created ‘The Gilmore Girls’ for The WB in 2000, as well as the recent reunion miniseries for Netflix. Her husband Daniel Palladino is her writing and producing partner. So far, they say, Amazon has been very good to them in terms of creative freedom and budget--especially compared to other broadcast network shows they’ve worked on. Of course, Amazon--under the leadership of the now-ousted Roy Price--had been accused of favoring shows created by men and for dropping one of its few female-fronted shows, ‘Good Girls Revolt,’ despite strong reviews. Price was also accused of sexual misconduct. Sherman-Palladino says she and her husband managed to set up shop at Amazon just in time to miss much of the controversy. Plus, they say, filming in New York keeps them away from any LA drama. They tell us how they write the show and craft 1950s Manhattan--from the sets to the wardrobe to especially the music. Plus, they explain why dancers make the best extras.
The Business
Insights from writers facing distinct challenges This week, leftovers! We bring you three interesting conversations with previous guests--all writers--that we didn’t have time to air before. First up is TV comedy writer Janis Hirsch. Her sitcom credits include ‘Murphy Brown,’ ‘Frasier,’ and ‘Will & Grace.’ She joined us on the show last fall, in the early days of the #MeToo movement, and told us a powerful story: she lost a dream job on the Showtime series, ‘It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,’ after being severely harassed in the writer’s room. We also asked Hirsch about the lack of work for actors with disabilities. She had polio as an infant and walks with the help of crutches. According to the disability rights group Respectability, people with disabilities make up 20 percent of the population, but have almost no presence on screen. Of the roles that do exist for disabled characters--on television, 95 percent of the time, they’re played by an able-bodied actor. Next up, Armando Iannucci, the political satirist and creator of the HBO comedy ‘Veep.’ He recently spoke to us about his new film, ‘The Death of Stalin.’ I also asked him about his next movie: an adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel ‘David Copperfield.’ Iannucci is going to take some liberties with the source material--Dev Patel will play the title role--but I wanted to know what he would do about some of the novel’s least interesting characters. He tells us how when it comes to Dickens’ women, quite a bit of rewriting will be necessary. Finally, a short conversation with married couple Daniel Palladino and Amy Sherman-Palladino. The two came on the show to talk about Amazon’s ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,’ but earlier in their careers, they both worked on the hit sitcom ‘Roseanne,’ though at different times. I asked them what they thought of the news that in the new version of that show, the title character is a Trump supporter. Roseanne returns to ABC on March 27.
The Business
Amy Sherman-Palladino & Daniel Palladino on 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' The Amazon series ‘ The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ’ opens with the perfectly coiffed, newly married Mrs. Miriam Maisel--played by Rachel Brosnahan--standing at a microphone at her wedding reception, exuberant and in love. Mrs. Maisel is thus launched into what she thinks is her dream life: she’s the perfect 1950s wife and mother with a beautiful Upper West Side apartment and a stunning wardrobe. She loyally stands by her husband Joel, who works a desk job during the day as he tries to launch a comedy career at night. But Miriam Maisel’s world suddenly falls apart when Joel announces that he is leaving her for his secretary. A stunned--and drunk--Mrs. Maisel hops the subway downtown in her nightgown and finds herself onstage at the club where her husband had tried to make a name for himself. As she shares her tale of woe, mrs. Maisel does not realize that she is about to alter the course of her life. The creator of ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ is Amy Sherman-Palladino, who also created ‘The Gilmore Girls’ for The WB in 2000, as well as the recent reunion miniseries for Netflix. Her husband Daniel Palladino is her writing and producing partner. So far, they say, Amazon has been very good to them in terms of creative freedom and budget--especially compared to other broadcast network shows they’ve worked on. Of course, Amazon--under the leadership of the now-ousted Roy Price--had been accused of favoring shows created by men and for dropping one of its few female-fronted shows, ‘Good Girls Revolt,’ despite strong reviews. Price was also accused of sexual misconduct. Sherman-Palladino says she and her husband managed to set up shop at Amazon just in time to miss much of the controversy. Plus, they say, filming in New York keeps them away from any LA drama. They tell us how they write the show and craft 1950s Manhattan--from the sets to the wardrobe to especially the music. Plus, they explain why dancers make the best extras.
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