It seems like forever since we last heard from Mrs. Maisel and the gang. And, in streaming (Amazon Prime) times, it certainly has been forever.

All of Season 3 dropped 12/9/2019; the first two episodes of Season 4 finally landed 2/18/2022 (each following Friday unveiled two additional episodes, the last two of eight on 3/11/2022).

In between there was COVID – which was a challenge for all shows/movies. But remember the first episode of Season 3? The USO show in an airplane hanger with multiple performances and a thousand or so extras (the soldiers in the audience)?

Just can’t do that in the age of COVID.

So they retooled and welcome to Season 4!

In many ways, this is – to me – the weakest, most disjointed season yet. Still, the show is of such high quality – acting. writing, visuals (still in 1960) – that the stumbles are forgiven.

The last two episodes – especially the last – tie together so many of the earlier loose threads that it makes going back to re-watch the first six shows. And we end with a big dose of Lenny Bruce, which is always a good thing – his chemistry with Midge – going back to the pilot – has been amazing. Of course he wants to sleep with her, but he sees in her a kindred spirit: He respects what she’s trying to do and intimates that he truly believes she will succeed.

Some thoughts on Season 4 (spoilers abound!):

• When is Midge going to get over her privilege? She gets fired, has no prospects, and she lands to two foci: 1) Keeping her swanky apartment and upscale lifestyle, and 2) No more opening acts – she needs to be the headliner. Huh?
• Tony Shalhoub is not used well here. While Shalhoub excels in any scene he is in, he’s put into weird situations. Would the Abe Weissman of the early seasons enjoy wearing a cape or watching TV shows while eating dinner off TV trays?? No… And would the nebbish, mathematical genius of early seasons be a … theater critic? Again, no…..
• Susie with an office/home overlooking Times Square? Yeah, there’s a foreshadowing explanation, but still.
• The magician client Susie takes on early in this season…makes no sense. But Episode 7 is the very unexpected payoff. Great scene for Rose Weissman. So unexpected, so hilarious. And so revealing to Midge in many ways.
• Joel is still a dick, but he’s been supportive of Midge the whole time in a way that doesn’t jibe with the times – 1960-ish. Everything points to Joel and Midge reconciling, but what’s the deal with Joel & Mei? This season offered up a deep twist on the whole relationship (Joel/Mei) in several different ways (professional, relations with family and with Midge). Interesting how the showrunners extricated all the characters from this morass.
• While Jane Lynch is her usual brilliant in the season (Sophie Lennon). I was glad not to see her in the last two episodes. Let’s focus on Susie and Midge – that’s the heart of the show.
• Still unclear what Susie wants in life (beyond not being in debt), but she does demonstrate a flair for finding talent (like Midge). She catches a black stand-up that she signs – like an early Richard Pryor. Expect to see more from him in Season 5.
• We see the beginnings of Lenny Bruce using morphine (he died in 1966 of an accidental morphine overdose). Will Season 5 go out to 1966, or will he just kind of circle the drain and it’ll hit Midge what the inevitable end to this story will be?

Finally, the last episode gives all sorts of hints, plot lines for the next (final) season. Some dark, some potentially dangerous, but all point to Midge ending up Season Five playing Carnegie Hall.

You read it here first.

While rummaging around Amazon Prime looking for something to watch, I ran across the TV series Loudermilk, and it turned out to be pretty good. Not great, but a good watch with some excellent writing.

The titular character – played with slacker energy (low) by Office Space’s Ron Livingston – is a recovering alcoholic who leads a substance abuse group. He’s also somewhat of an asshole.

The group – primarily men – are all recovering/lapsed addicts of some sort, so it’s pretty much a circle of losers. Which, of course, can lead to some chaotic situations (and lots of profanity – stay away if at all put off by profanity or sexual talk).

It leans a little too heavily – for me – on “you have to understand that your sobriety is tied to everything you do so keep doing the work!” Reminds me a people who obsess over church or therapy; it often seems forced, as it is what you think you should do instead of what you want to do. But that’s the backbone of the show, and it’s not too preachy.

It ran for three seasons (2017-2020; 30 episodes) on some network that got gobbled up when HBO became HBO Max. A season 4 had been planned (and there were plotlines that could have been mined) but never happened due to the merger.

It’s a good watch – no car chase, few rom-com plot points, just a lot of dialogue and weird little twists that are done well. Not great like Fleabag, but I’d watch it again sometime, skipping this or that episode/scene. Low key and watchable – and very human.