'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Gives Midge a New Job During Its Final Season
Published April 20 2023, 2:22 p.m. ET
In the first episode of the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, we hear about The Gordon Ford Show. In a flash-forward scene of a much-older Midge on a 60 Minutes special, she points out her iconic outfits from over the years. One of them is from her first day as a writer on the Tonight Show-esque late night talk show.
And it's hard not to wonder if The Gordon Ford Show is real on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. At the very least, it's an important part of Midge's story. There's a reason it's a central part of Season 5 and it could be where her big break finally happens. But the show itself feels familiar in some ways, so was it real in the '60s? It may be based on a real talk show.
Was 'The Gordon Ford' show on 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' real?
The Gordon Ford Show is not a real show in the history of late-night talk shows. However, it is so reminiscent of shows like The Tonight Show that we have to assume it's based on that or something close to it. Since Midge is often compared to legend Joan Rivers and Joan had a close friendship with The Tonight Show's Johnny Carson, the connection and inspiration makes sense.
There are also slight references to The Tonight Show on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Like when Jack Paar is referenced as a potential host to give Midge a shot. He was The Tonight Show host from 1957-1962. It's the clear inspiration for the very fictional Gordon Ford Show. Even if Gordon Ford himself is a fictional character.
Midge gets a job on 'The Gordon Ford Show.'
In Season 5 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Midge is hired as the first and only female writer for The Gordon Ford Show. She sees it as a stepping stone to hopefully lead the way to appear on the show as a stand-up comic. But in order to be considered serious enough for a role even close to that, Midge has to prove herself as a solid writer first.
What happens between Midge and Gordon?
Although Midge is hired to be a writer for Gordon, he takes a liking to her pretty quickly. And, while Midge resists his charms at first, we wouldn't be surprised if Midge eventually gives in to Gordon as her love interest in the final season of the Prime Video series. Still, we'd like to hope the fifth season is more about Midge's final push to her big break rather than an underlying love story.
Watch new episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Fridays on Prime Video.