All right - born in 1950, just up the Hudson from Manhattan. I see the gestalt of that layer of New York City that populates this show portrayed brilliantly in The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. I see real people (Rose and Abe, Midge, Susie, Joel, Benjamin and omg Lenny) more - or less - defined by their social 'roles'; nevertheless, each of them are truly fascinating, often struggling individuals in spite of the constraints of those roles. I felt the contrasts within each of those main characters were masterfully played out, in the dialogues and the interactions. The splattering about of the Fword, though obviously off-putting to some viewers, was itself almost a character development. Even Midge commented at one point, with amazement at how it had invaded her speech. It was a perhaps crude, but edgy and alive piece of the liberation of self-ness that these characters are each, in an often almost unaware, yet dogged manner, struggling to emerge into. The balancing acts of those individual and interacting struggles are timeless, within the quite proscribed socio-economic types of this era, in this city.
I just watched the season 2 finale and found it perhaps the most brilliant. Too many of the above reviewers evidently have no idea who Lenny Bruce was. And I think too many have no way to feel the historical depth of change being portrayed in this series. I can't wait to see where and how the story unfolds from here. I So appreciate the Real amidst the entertaining.