Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Mondays

It will come as no surprise that Gilmore Girls is my favorite television show. Sure, it’s cliché, but Rory was a year older than I was and seemed like the perfect role model for my Enneagram One self. I was on track to be valedictorian and dreamed of attending not Harvard but “the Harvard of Christian schools,” Wheaton College, located outside of Chicago (Spoiler alert: I actually took my parents’ offer to buy me a Mustang if I stayed in-state and ran. Er, drove.).

As a bookworm, I was solidly Team Jess. Dean was dumb, and Logan took too many risks. Jess, while he did break more rules than I was comfortable with, understood Rory. He had more potential than people gave him credit for.

My college roommates and I watched Gilmore Girls religiously. I’m still thankful I survived driving home with one of the worse migraines of my life after a binge-watching session during one of our post-college reunions. I listened to every episode of the Gilmore Guys podcast, which introduced me to Bunheads. I tracked that down and loved seeing some beloved cast members in new roles.  I watched A Year in the Life waiting to go into labor with my first child, and my water broke right after I finished the third of the four episodes. “Reflecting Light” by Sam Phillips stayed stuck in my head throughout those first delirious months with my newborn.

And just when I thought I would have to spend the rest of my life rewatching seasons 1–4 of Gilmore Girls, pretending Rory turned out ok so I could believe I would too, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel entered the chat. A new show from Amy Sherman-Palladino? With familiar faces from Gilmore and Bunheads? Sign me up.

I loved having the banter back. I loved the sets. Paris (the city and the actress)?! HAVE YOU SEEN THE COSTUMES???

But I had a newborn and soon would be pregnant again. That pregnancy would lead to two under two. I—sorry—hated the new co-host of the Gilmore Guys podcast, so I wasn’t getting witty banter about the witty banter. Watching TV alone makes me feel like I’m being completely unproductive, and Maisel did not fall into the overlapping section of my husband’s and my TV show Venn diagram.

I tried to keep up with it, but carving out an hour for something purely fun just didn’t feel worthwhile. I could check something off of my to-do list instead! I could sleep! I could scroll Instagram while telling myself I should sleep! Somewhere around season 3, I stopped watching (I should note that it took me about five years to get even that far.)

I was a little sad that I never finished it, but making time never felt realistic. Then I heard that Amy has another show in the works, Étoile,set in New York and Paris (swoon). True to form, Amy has some familiar faces on deck. I don’t care about ballet, but I do want to see Michel again after all these years.

However, in part because I’m a completionist (a word for another day), I realized I actually want to finish Maisel before jumping in to Étoile. So on my birthday (a Monday this year), I sat myself down in the middle of the day and rewatched the pilot.

Now, I admit, I also folded a load of laundry and cleaned out my email inbox. But those things didn’t take a full hour. So eventually, I just had to sit there and watch the TV show. And it was…FUN. Also, can we bring back dressing gowns that look like ballgowns? Is this just a fantasy, or was the fashion really that much better back in the day? I needed more!

Of course, after this joyous experience I went on to do exactly nothing to continue my Mrs. Maisel journey for three weeks. I’ve love to make a plan, and I want to plan for fun. But I just…forgot. Until this past Sunday, when I looked at my time budget for the week (another idea for another day) and realized…I had some spare time this week. Why not “budget” an hour for the next episode?

Reader, I watched it on Monday. In the middle of the day while my kids were at school. Again, the fashion! The witty banter! The maid who apparently takes care of everything! It was a treat.

In an era of binge-watching, I wondered if I could simply watch one episode a week. Would that be enough? Can you watch TV that way? Then I remembered I’m a millennial, gosh darn it, and I used to check the weekly TV Guide to see if Gilmore Girls had a new episode or if I’d have to settle for a rerun. Of course I can watch TV that way! And I can certainly find one hour a week for something that really is fun for me—yes, even if it’s not productive. Even if I just sit there and watch it. On a Monday, no less.

Maisel has 43 episodes, so check back next year to see what I think of Étoile. I’ll be just in time for season 2.

What’s your go-to TV show? Does watching TV feel like wasted time or purposeful fun? What have you been wanting to watch or wanting to replace with a more fun activity? Let me know in the comments!