It’s late fall 2022 and the cast of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is filming episode 509. That is, the final episode of the Emmy-winning series that stars Rachel Brosnahan as a Jewish housewife who reinvents her life after she discovers her calling doing stand-up. On this brisk late October day, aside from an increase in personal-photo taking between scenes and ear-marking props for parting gifts, it’s business as usual on the soundstage at Steiner Studios—Maisel’s home base—in Brooklyn.

Although Brosnahan is filming this last episode as Midge Maisel, she’s also doing scenes for episode 505. It could make a less experienced actor—or any actor, really—spin out from pressure and anxiety, but this is the Maisel life: fast-paced, unpredictable, and thrilling. Brosnahan wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We have a lot of work to do in two weeks, like a lot,” she says of this final episode, including those reshoots for other episodes. “The final script is 102 pages long, as of the last draft. So we have a lot to do, which I think is helping us all keep the tears at bay.”

As I sit in Brosnahan’s dressing room, she’s just finished a scene with her counterpart Alex Borstein, who plays talent manager Susie Myerson. It takes place in Myerson’s office, with Midge falling asleep on a nearby chair. In some ways it’s the perfect analogy for the last six years of Brosnahan’s life, starting with the moment she walked in to audition for a new Amy Sherman-Palladino comedy series. There’s been no time to sleep, no taking her foot off the pedal. While it hasn’t been the healthiest or easiest lifestyle to sustain, Brosnahan is thankful.

“We know that we’re breathing rarefied air, and we’re so lucky,” she says in between showing me some of the personalized wrap gifts she’s commissioned for the cast and crew. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. I’ve lived in New York for 15 years, and the life of an actor is one that takes you here or there and everywhere if you’re lucky. But it’s also been so lucky to be able to live and work at home for the last six years. We know that this is lightning in a bottle.”

And so, ahead of the final season—the first three episodes of which drop on Friday, April 14—Brosnahan opens up for her first exit interview to discuss the lessons she’s learned from stepping into Midge’s shoes (and clothes), the early day on set that made an impact, and what it was like filming that last scene for the final episode.
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