Don’t know what Amazon Pilot Season is? Amazon offers the pilot episodes of multiple potential shows and then asks it’s users to “vote” on their favorites by both watching the Pilot episodes and rating them after. The Pilot with the most views and best ratings gets a full season order. It’s AWESOME! Some of our faves shows have come from Amazon Pilot Season including the mind-blowing Man in the High Castle.
This year’s crop is no different! At the top of the list is a Pilot called Oasis featuring Richard Madden (of Game of Thrones fame) and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel which I was blown away by. The pilot, which debuted March 17 on Amazon Video in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, and Japan, drew an average customer rating of 4.8 with 92% 5-star rating (source)! So obviously, you need to watch it and here’s why:
The Writing
(Amazon needs to cut a much better trailer for this show)
I’ve never watched The Gilmore Girls (yea, sorry) but if the Marvelous Mrs Maisel is any indication, than maybe I’ve been holding out for too long. The creators of the Gilmore Girls are responsible for Mrs Maisel with Amy Sherman-Palladino, writing and directing.
An Original Story ABOUT A WOMAN!
“Written and directed by Gilmore Girls creator Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel stars Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards) as Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a 1958 New York City woman who has everything she’s ever wanted—the perfect husband, two kids, and an elegant Upper West Side apartment perfect for hosting Yom Kippur dinner. But her perfect life suddenly takes an unexpected turn and Midge discovers a previously unknown talent—one that changes her life forever. She charts a course that takes her from her comfortable life on Riverside Drive, through the basket houses and nightclubs of Greenwich Village as she storms the world of stand-up comedy…a course that will ultimately lead her to a spot on Johnny Carson’s couch.”
REAL Characters
Obviously, they’re TV characters but you can see shades of real life creep into the characters and make you laugh and cheer. From Midge (Mrs Maisel) herself as the stay-at-home-mom who is thrown into a sink-or-swim situation and NAILS IT to Alex Borstein’s Susies who plays a feminist / (maybe Lesbian?) ahead-of-her-time comdedy club manager, it’s a show that champions women in all forms.
The Men
Midge’s husband is the typical Mad Men era Ad man who really just wants to be a comedian but as we find out, has no real knack for it, other than ripping off someone else’s material. It’s his wife Midge who is the real talent of the family, from reading a room to working people and being a naturally gifted comedian, it’s awesome to see a woman with actual talent excel past a man with none. Shades of Clinton vs Trump, anyone?
The Sets / Wardrobe / Props
The show is set in the 50s, so this is vintage prop and wardrobe porn for people like me. I wish I could go shopping on the sets of shows like Mrs Maisel and Mad Men… they don’t need it all, right?
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The amazing news is that Amazon has already ordered two seasons of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel! So start with the pilot while we wait for the show!
Watch the Amazon Pilots Trailer