The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel shut down production temporarily to allow star Rachel Brosnahan to grieve for her deceased aunt, fashion designer Kate Spade. Brosnahan's co-star, Alex Borstein, revealed how the Amazon show supported Brosnahan.
"We kind of shut down production for a little bit so she could go and be with her family," she told People at the Amazon Prime Video Post Emmy Awards Party Monday. "We all reached out to her in different ways."
Borstein won an Emmy Monday night for outstanding lead actress in a comedy. She praised Brosnahan for her role in the series and personality. "She's amazing," Borstein told People. "She's generous, she's lovely, she's thoughtful and she's an extremely hard worker. Everyone on the show, there's no whiners, and there's no one that shows up unprepared. Everyone is just a pro from the get-go, so it's really nice, really rare."
Production halted in June when Spade, 55, died by suicide in her Manhattan home. Brosnahan honored her late aunt in an Instagram video of Spade dancing with husband, Andy Spade.
"Knowing Katy, this is how she would want to be remembered," the caption read. "She had a light that words can't capture but touched everyone she came into contact with. She was exceedingly kind, beautifully sensitive, insanely talented, funny as heck and one of the most generous people I have ever known. She was effervescent. Hug your loved ones extra tight today."
Brosnahan won the comedy actress Emmy on Monday night for her role in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. "I'll be thanking you for the rest of my life for trusting me with your Midge," she said to show creators in her acceptance speech.
Brosnahan auditioned for the role of Midge when she was incredibly ill, the New York Times reported in November 2017. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, who also created Gilmore Girls, spoke highly of the audition, though. "She blew in like a hurricane," she said told the Times. "Nothing shook. Her pages didn't shake, her hands didn't shake. There was literally no fear."
The show follows Midge, a female comedian, in 1950s Manhattan as she navigates her life on stage and off after her husband leaves. She's left to focus on her newfound comedy talent. Midge expands past her Upper West Side life and finds herself performing throughout the city.
Season 2 of the show will stream on Amazon this year, Sherman-Palladino told Deadline backstage at the Emmys. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel premiered in the heat of the #MeToo movement and was instantly compared to the female-power of the modern age.
"You never set out to drive a political message through your show, it just won't work," she told Deadline. "You gotta love the show, love your characters, it was an interesting fluke that Maisel came out when we were taking trolls down. I'm glad it's a character that still resonates. We can look back at 1959 and see that today women aren't wearing corsets anymore, but the problems still exist."
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