Tony Shalhoub is looking to make it five nominations out of five seasons for his wonderful role in Amazon Prime Video’s exiting comedy series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” The respected actor has had a tremendous career so far and “Maisel” is right up there with some of his most beloved projects.
Amy Sherman-Palladino‘s comedy show, which won Best Comedy Series for its debut season in 2018, follows Rachel Brosnahan‘s titular Miriam “Midge” Maisel as a housewife in 1950s New York who embarks on a career in stand-up comedy after her husband (Michael Zegen) leaves her. Shalhoub features in the show as Midge’s father, Abraham “Abe” Weissman. Abe is a professor at Columbia University who, later in the show, sets out on a new career of his own — a theatre critic for “The Village Voice.”
As Abe, Shalhoub is intelligent and witty, stern and sharp, and poignant and regretful in some of the show’s most emotional moments. He is fiercely protective of his daughter, who he doesn’t always understand — and Shalhoub pitches it superbly. His character goes on his journey, too, as he initially struggles with his daughter’s new-found independence and goals but, eventually, comes to terms with them. It’s no overstatement to say that Shalhoub’s performance has gone down as one of the series’ most enjoyable treats, according to critics.
Thelma Adams (The Wrap) explained: “There are so many high points from Season 5. I’m partial to a scene late in the season where Tony Shalhoub’s Papa Abe Weissman attends an intimate wine-soaked dinner at what appears to be Manhattan’s famed, now-shuttered 21 Club with his ‘Village Voice’ colleagues.”
Peter Travers (Good Morning America) stated: “Not only is “Maisel” the best-looking series you’ll find anywhere, from costumes to production design, the ensemble cast ranks with TV’s finest. The great Tony Shalhoub as Midge’s father has a scene of realization about the women in his life that belongs in the acting time capsule.”
Cristina Escobar (Roger Ebert) noted: “Midge’s parents Rose (Marin Hinkle) and Abe (Tony Shalhoub), come close to stealing the show.”
And Chris Barsanti (Slant Magazine) wrote: “In an achingly poignant monologue in the penultimate episode of the show’s final season, ‘The Princess and the Plea,’ Abe (Tony Shalhoub), comes to the tragic realization that he never really took his daughter or her ambition seriously because she was a woman. Abe is a man driven by his impatience and discontent over the seemingly trivial, though thanks to Sherman-Palladino’s knack for screwball comedy, most of it is pitched to chaotic hilarity.”
It’s not just the critics that love this Shalhoub performance, however, it’s Emmy voters, too. He has been nominated for every season of “Maisel” so far, reaping bids for Best Comedy Supporting Actor in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. He took home the award in 2019.
We predict that Shalhoub will be nominated for Best Comedy Supporting Actor again this year, alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“The Bear”), Nick Mohammed (“Ted Lasso”), Anthony Carrigan (“Barry”), Harrison Ford (“Shrinking”), Henry Winkler (“Barry”), Brett Goldstein (“Ted Lasso”), and Tyler James Williams (“Abbott Elementary”). So, he’s odds on to make it five Emmy bids out of five seasons of “Maisel.” It seems unreasonable to suggest that voters would suddenly renegade their love for this Shalhoub turn — they’ll want to see it out and give him the full 5/5.
This feels all the more convincing when you take a closer look at Shalhoub’s curious Emmys history. He’s earned a dozen Emmy nominations and four wins in total across his illustrious career, but only for two shows and only in two categories. He was nominated eight times for Best Comedy Actor for “Monk,” winning in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Then, he earned those four aforementioned bids in Comedy Supporting Actor for “Maisel.”
This suggests that when Emmy voters like a particular Shalhoub performance, they LOVE that performance, and his role in “Maisel” is one of them. The last time they liked one of his roles so much was for “Monk” and they gave him three wins.
Voters will surely want to give him more than one Emmy for a show they similarly adore, particularly as this is their last chance to reward a performer and a performance they so clearly admire — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” has bowed out with this fifth and final season.
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