The clear stand-out characters on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel are Midge Maisel and her booking agent Susie Meyerson, of course, along with Joel, Midge’s and Joel’s parents, who add to the comedy/drama as well. But beyond the core characters, there are some compelling supporting characters, too.
Some of these side characters have appeared in a few episodes, others are in every episode, whether they are friends, foes, or a bit of both. But some tend to steal every scene they’re in thanks to their charismatic, annoying, or hilarious ways.
Archie Cleary
Archie is Joel’s best friend and business partner and husband to Midge’s best friend Imogene. He’s usually only seen at the bar where he is working alongside Joel to make sure things are running smoothly.
Archie shares personal information about his marriage with Imogene to Joel, and they lean on one another through thick and thin, including Joel’s infidelity and divorce, career troubles, and Imogene’s decision to go to secretary school. There’s not much to Archie, but he appears to be someone Joel needs in his life to help keep him grounded.
Asher Friedman
It’s impossible for Jason Alexander to play a character in any show and not have it rank among the best. In this Amazon original series, he plays Abe’s old college best friend who pursued becoming a playwright. Abe, one of the funniest characters on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, reconnects with Asher during a midlife crisis and a deep desire to do something more meaningful. It’s Asher who helps Abe decide to quit his job and start writing for a local paper covering Broadway shows.
However, when Abe writes a scathing review for Asher’s new play, there’s friction between the two. In one scene, a bit of George Costanza comes out in Alexander as he screams angrily at his now former friend, rubbing it in his face that he and Abe’s wife Rose once dated when the two were on a break.
Sophie Lennon
The Sophie Lennon storyline was puzzling but necessary as Midge faced some competition in the female comic space. A legendary comedian, she put on a fat suit and used crass humor to create an on-stage persona fans believed to be the real her. In actuality, Sophie was an uptight, high society woman who lived a lavish lifestyle.
Returning in season 4, now disgraced after blowing her chance on Broadway and fresh from an institution, fans look forward to seeing how Susie manages to balance her loyalty to Midge with being guilted into helping Sophie revive her now tainted career.
Shy Baldwin
Shy Baldwin had a huge role in season 3 as a famous singer who hired Midge to open for him on the road. The pair even struck up what some could call a friendship, sharing details of their lives with one another. When Midge was with Shy, she was at her best even though she felt nervous about performing on such big stages.
The way Shy completely dropped Midge when she betrayed him was sad but understandable seeing as she almost both outed him and ruined his career in her set, in one of the pivotal things to remember before watching season 4 of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Nonetheless, fans are happy to see more of Shy, and a resolution between he and Midge.
Harry Drake
At first, Harry was Susie’s mortal enemy. After Midge outed his client Sophie Lennon for being a fraud in one of her sets opening for the famous comedian, Harry had Susie and Midge blacklisted from comedy clubs in New York.
However, they seemed to have buried the hatchet, and despite Susie technically being his competition, Harry does what he can to help Susie out. As a cut-throat businessman, it’s still unclear whether he truly wants to help or is still planning revenge. Nonetheless, he’s one of the more layered characters on the show who could be either a best friend or a worst enemy.
Zelda
As the long-time housekeeper to the Weissmans, Zelda has seen not only Midge’s children grow up but also Midge herself, having worked with the family for more than 20 years. She is a perfectionist of sorts, always rearranging the dishes in the kitchen so they are the way she wants them or criticizing herself for not making enough of a particular side dish. She also lets out a wisecrack or two every now and then.
She helps care for the children, tend to the home, and is always there when they need her, such as when she helped Midge take care of Susie following the death of her former boss and roommate. Zelda is sweet, kind, and one of the family.
Imogene Cleary
Imogene is the typical ’50s and ’60s housewife who becomes inspired by her best friend Midge when she decides to do stand-up comedy. This drives Imogene to make a change and try to get a job, too. Midge’s closest confidant, Imogene is also married to Joel’s best friend Archie.
She is the bubbly, happy-go-lucky yin to Midge’s more sarcastic yang, but the pair make great friends. She is sweet, kind, thoughtful, and always there for her friend, including helping with the kids while Midge was away on tour. One of the things fans most wanted to see in season 4 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was Imogene’s shift to becoming an independent working woman.
Tessie
Fans adore the character of Tessie, Susie’s sister who seems to simply float through her low-class life day by day without a care in the world. When she and Susie get together, it’s clear they are close. No matter what Susie puts her up to, including committing arson in order to collect insurance money to pay off gambling debts, Tessie never asks questions or thinks twice.
She even struck up a relationship with the insurance representative to make sure he didn’t flag their claim as suspicious so they’d get the money. The situation also landed her a receptionist job. It’s clear there’s nothing Tessie wouldn’t do for her sister, and chances are there will be more of her through the show’s remaining episodes.
Mei
Interestingly, Mei is a lot like Midge as they share a sardonic, sarcastic, blunt, fast-talking speaking style. She doesn’t mince words and is not the type of woman to stay at home and tend to her man. It’s no wonder that Joel fell hard for Mei from the moment he met her.
A strong businesswoman in her own right, Mei handles the day-to-day operations at her parents illicit gambling ring that runs in the basement of Joel’s bar. She stepped up on many occasions to defend Joel and help him, such as getting his liquor license and appeasing her father when he was upset the club was becoming too successful and could attract more unwanted attention that threatened his side of the operation. She perfectly represents the independent woman of the ’60s.
Lenny Bruce
Fans absolutely adore the character of Lenny Bruce, based on the real comic of the same name. When Midge was just starting out, he was one of the first to help her along the way, even bailing her out of jail. He knew she would be a rising star and encouraged her at every step, believing in her when even she didn’t.
While she almost had a romantic rendezvous with Lenny, they stopped themselves. Fans agree a romance between them would become one of the relationships that doesn’t make sense on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: they are better off as friends. Nonetheless, fans absolutely love the character and hope to see more of Lenny before he likely meets the same tragic end the comedian of the same name met in real life.
