Mumbai, Feb 18 (PTI) "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her writer-director husband Daniel Palladino believe they avoided the pandemic gloom by taking refuge in comedy and the period setting of the show during the shooting for the fourth season.

The first three seasons of the Prime Video period-comedy drama premiered consecutively from 2017-2019 and followed its affable central lead, Miriam "Midge" Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) accidentally turning to stand up comedy and taking baby steps towards success.

Also Read | Uncharted Ending Explained: Decoding the Climax to Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg's Adaptation of the PlayStation Game and How it Set's Up Sequels! (SPOILER ALERT).

The fourth season, which premiers on the streamer on Friday, comes after three years of wait, the longest gap between seasons. "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" will end after five seasons.

In an interview with PTI, Daniel, who serves as the writer, director and executive producer on the series, said it helped that the show was set in the 1960s so they could avoid the pandemic -- at least in fiction.

Also Read | Sobhita Dhulipala Shares Beautiful Pictures in Saree From Her Sri Lankan Vacation!.

"You have got to take refuge in comedy. We wanted to keep going and everybody around the world had to mentally figure out how not to obsess on the pandemic.

"Our process was to just find the comedy. It made it easier for us that we were dealing with the 1960s and not modern day. It helped that we got to spend time in a different era, where the problems were different," he said.

Amy, creator, writer, director and executive producer of the series, said when the fourth season went into production in New York in January 2021 with necessary COVID protocols, the team banked on its years of camaraderie to pull off the shoot smoothly.

"We were very lucky because we were not a new show. A lot of our crew has been with us since the pilot, so we already were together for five years. It was awful with the masks and distancing, but because we were so bonded already, our main goal was to keep the cast and especially Rachel safe.

"When Rachel had the wig on, she could not wear a mask, so there was a collective, 'Rachel will not get sick today' feeling! That really helped, because you are with people with great trust and affection. It just made work feel like a safe space to be," she added.

The new season picks up from the heartbreak Brosnahan's Midge faced in the season three when she was taken down from singer star Shy Baldwin's big tour for nearly outing him while performing a stand up at the Apollo Theater.

The performance was euphoric but the consequence tragic and Midge now finds herself back to square one.

Fans of the show have observed that Midge would have her revenge mode on for the current season and Amy said her character's journey mirrors the trajectory of artistes in showbiz- they will come back stronger when pushed against the wall.

"I have been joking--although it is not a joke--that there is no show business if not for angry, revengeful people. That's why you go into the business-- to get back at everybody that called you stupid or ugly. It is like, 'Now you will see who I am!' A lot of creativity also comes from just the need to get back to people."

The 56-year-old maker, also known for another TV cult hit "Gilmore Girls", said Midge is receptive to change and will take whatever comes her way, head-on. Her character on season four will be about accepting and overcoming harsh realities of the entertainment business.

"The wonderful thing about her is that she is an open person, whatever will come, will come, whichever way the wind blows, she will go that way.

"When the Shy thing went down and she got dumped at the tarmac, it was the first time that she looked at the business with a colder eye. She realised that she got to have some protection, that she has to take care of herself and she must have a plan."

With "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel", Amy and Daniel have not only mounted a series about a young New York woman making her way in the male-dominated comic scene of the 60s but have also populated it with characters who, though fighting their own battles, act as a solid support system for Midge.

From her always-on-the-hustle manager Susie Myerson, played by Alex Borstein, her charming parents Abe and Rose, played by Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle to her estrangred husband Joel Maisel, essayed by Michael Zegen, the show is populated by characters that instantly make a mark.

Amy, whose father was a comic, said the world of comedy has a lot of "darkness" in it, but if one finds people to share laughter with, the sailing is smooth.

"My father was a comic, so I know that the world of comedy definitely has plenty of darkness in it, sometimes it comes from a lot of pain.

"(But) it is also a world of camaraderie, of making each other laugh. My dad would have his comic friends over every weekend and all one heard was laughter, guys making each other laugh for hours... I also think that our cast is special, full of special actors."

The fourth season of "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" premiered on Friday, with new episodes scheduled to drop every Friday for four weeks.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)