Marvelous! Mad!
ELLE|February 2018

The new show from the creator of Gilmore Girls is about a woman on the verge of a nervous breakout.

Lisa Chase
Marvelous! Mad!

The first thing you observe on Rachel Brosnahan’s Twitter page is a picture of Elisabeth Moss as Mad Men’s Peggy Olson. It’s not just any picture of Peggy: It’s Peggy in cool dark shades, a cigarette dangling from her lip, and carrying something—a mock-up for an ad campaign? (in fact, it’s Roger’s illustration of “an octopus pleasuring a lady”)—in such a way that it looks like she’s slinging a gun.

“It’s just one of the most badass pictures that I’ve seen of her. Like, fuck the world,” says Brosnahan, the 27-year-old actress you may know as the prostitute Rachel on House of Cards. Brosnahan is currently killing it as Miriam “Midge” Maisel; she’s the star of writer-director Amy Sherman-Palladino’s new series streaming on Amazon, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Amazon liked what it saw in the pilot so much that the studio ordered two full seasons. (This never happens, by the way.)

The show is both intimate and big, screwball and transgressive. That it succeeds on all levels is a testament to Sherman-Palladino’s immense talents, and those of her husband, Daniel Palladino; the show’s writers; and the cast. And let’s not forget the crew, many of whom were Vinyl alums, “a bunch of brilliant, creatively minded people who were suddenly wandering the streets of New York…when HBO, thank God, decided to do the angelof-death thing” and cancel that 2016 series, Sherman-Palladino says with grateful glee.

This story is from the February 2018 edition of ELLE.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 2018 edition of ELLE.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ELLEView All
La Nuova BELLEZA
ELLE US

La Nuova BELLEZA

Confident, sexy, and at the height of the fashion world. Italian supermodel Vittoria Ceretti demonstrates how to dress for seduction in spring's sheer.feminine slipdresses and body-conscious looks from luxury labels in Italy and beyond.

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2024
Repainting Broadway
ELLE US

Repainting Broadway

Lempicka is changing the narrative by making room for a new kind of character.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2024
KUNAWAY RLBOSS
ELLE US

KUNAWAY RLBOSS

She coined the term that inspired a generation of women entrepreneurs—and then sunk them. Ten years later, Sophia Amoruso is ready to cast off the label for good.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2024
YOUTH SERUM IN A SHOT?
ELLE US

YOUTH SERUM IN A SHOT?

My Roman Empire? There's this retreat the healthiest person you know as your guest, and then over the next few days, your plus-one donates their number two to gift you a health-boosting fecal transplant.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2024
EVERYONE WANTS TO SMELL RARE AND DIFFERENT
ELLE US

EVERYONE WANTS TO SMELL RARE AND DIFFERENT

Niche perfumes are helping you to be less like the crowd— and more like you.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2024
Take It OFFLINE
ELLE US

Take It OFFLINE

Instagram-famous artist Cj Hendry now wants fans to see and touch the work.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
IMPERFECTION Is the New PERFECTION
ELLE US

IMPERFECTION Is the New PERFECTION

From artfully disheveled, on-the-run looks to everyday core, the rising runway aesthetic is one of considered undoneness. How will it translate in real life?

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
WHAT WOMEN DESIGNERS WANT
ELLE US

WHAT WOMEN DESIGNERS WANT

Women are the beating heart of fashion, but female designers remain underrepresented in the industry. Here, 13 of the best on how their identities shape them, and how they’re pushing for change.

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2024
Working for a Billionaire Worth It?
ELLE US

Working for a Billionaire Worth It?

What started as a dream job began to look increasingly like a nightmare.

time-read
5 mins  |
February 2024
The Compassion of Penélope Cruz
ELLE US

The Compassion of Penélope Cruz

The noted empath, devoted mother, and mesmerizing star of Ferrari is hard not to fall in love with

time-read
10 mins  |
February 2024