Trivia / The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

• Actor Allusion:
  • Kevin Pollak is a stand-up comedian in real-life, so it's no surprise that Moishe is the one most interested in actually hearing Midge's act when she reveals her job to the family.
  • To fans acquainted with Tony Shalhoub, the scene in episode 5 where Abe is obsessive-compulsive about the state of the Steiner Resort rec room's shuffleboard seems like something right out of Monk.
  • Deecy, one of the girls in Susie's cabin at Steiner Mountain Resort, is a singer and mentions that she's got a singing career coming up. Laura Dreyfuss, who plays Deecy, played Madison McCarthy on the sixth season of the musical TV show Glee, and played Zoe Murphy in the original Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen.
  • Gavin is mentioned to be starring in a pirate movie. Cary Elwes played Westley in The Princess Bride, who became The Dread Pirate Roberts after disappearing.
  • Boise calls himself a prince for giving Susie her paycheck early. Santino Fontana is most famous for voicing Prince Hans in Frozen (2013), and originated Prince Christoper/Kit in the 2013 Broadway reimagining of Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein).
  • Sophie's Season 4 gig as a game show host parallels Jane Lynch's roles as host of Hollywood Game Night and The Weakest Link.
• Ascended Extra: According to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Luke Kirby was initially only supposed to appear as Lenny in the pilot, but she was so impressed by his chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan that she ended up making Lenny a recurring character.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Marin Hinkle accepted the role of Rose Weissman because the character was described as "entering the room like she was in a MGM musical".
• The Character Died with Him: The season 4 episode “Everything is Bellmore” reveals that Jackie died, as his actor, Brian Tarantina, passed away in November 2019.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Midge, the quintessential Jewish American Princess, is played by non-Jewish actress Rachel Brosnahan, while her gentile friend Susie is played by Jewish actress Alex Borstein. Midge's father Abe is an Alter Kocker played by the Lebanese American Tony Shalhoub.
• Non-Singing Voice: Shy’s actor, LeRoy McClain, doesn’t do his singing, it’s instead done by Darius de Haas.
• Reality Subtext: A minor example in Season 4. When Midge meets journalist L. Roy Dunham, she's surprised to find out that Dunham is a woman. Midge asks if Dunham has "always been a woman", which Dunham answers affirmatively, though she notes "Be a better story if I hadn't, though, right?" and winks. Dunham is played by Hari Nef, a transgender woman.
• Real-Life Relative: Mike Carr, who is introduced in season 4, is played by Rachel Brosnahan's husband Jason Ralph.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: The reason for Noah's new beard in season 3 is that Will Brill had to grow it out for his role as Ali Hakim in the 2019 revival of Oklahoma!.
• Star-Making Role: Rachel Brosnahan was previously only known for a small recurring role in House of Cards (US). The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is her first starring role and catapulted her into instant stardom.
• Throw It In!: One of the dancers at Midge's wedding (who she reveals were actually hired professionals) drops his yarmulke during his performance, but he simply scoops it up as he finishes. This is clearly a gaffe by the dancer, but it works in-universe.
• Production Posse: A number of actors from Sherman-Palladino's previous works (Gilmore Girls, Bunheads) appear here, including Alex Borstein, Emily Bergl, Bailey De Young, Liza Weil, Brian Tarantina, Milo Ventimiglia, Kelly Bishop, and Scott Cohen. In addition, Sutton Foster, who starred in Bunheads, sang a cover of "I Enjoy Being a Girl" for the Season 1 soundtrack and "Perfectly Marvelous" for the Season 3 soundtrack.
• Word of Saint Paul: Lead actress Rachel Brosnahan previously, and somewhat infamously, said that the very popular Lenny/Midge pairing would not happen on the show because she disliked the idea and requested that Amy Sherman-Palladino keep the relationship platonic. However, in season 4 Midge and Lenny did finally get together, but for a brief fling instead of a long-term relationship.