Is The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel based on a true story?

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a great series to check out. A lot of fans want to know if it’s based on a true story. Who is Midge supposed to be?

We’re almost at the halfway point of the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. This is a great show to watch the first time and multiple times afterward. Of course, with anything that is set in the past, one of the big questions is whether the show is based on a true story.

It certainly seems like it could do. We follow Midge Maisel, a 1950s housewife who finds out that her husband is having an affair and is leaving her. She’s stuck for what to do with her life, and ends up falling into a passion: comedy. With her push to chase the dream, she inspires many others to do the same, including her parents.

So, is Midge based on a real person? Is there anything about the series that’s based on truth?

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel includes some real people

The character of Midge isn’t based on any single female comedian. She is an amalgamation of a few great women from her time. In fact, her story is more influenced from Don Sherman’s stories. Who is Don Sherman? A great comedian who opened for some big acts and Mrs. Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s own father.

There are also some elements of Joan Rivers in Midge’s story. This is especially seen in Midge’s Jewish parents who don’t approve of their daughter going into comedy. That’s the way Joan’s parents were.

There is one character from the very beginning who is based on a real person: Lenny Bruce. Lenny shows up in the first episode and is a guide for Midge’s career. He sees something special in her and encourages her to keep going. Well, it turns out the real Lenny Bruce was that for Joan Rivers. This means we know how Lenny’s story will end, although Luke Kirby isn’t set to return to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in Season 5 after the premiere episode. It looks like everything about Lenny will be tackled through stories possibly in the flash-forward moments.

Other characters are fictional. That doesn’t mean there isn’t some inspiration here and there, but the characters are their own.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is available to stream on Prime Video.