Mrs. Maisel returns 

The second season of the mega-hit Amazon Prime series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” starts being streamed, in its entirety, on Dec. 5. As many of you know, the show is set in the late 1950s and the title character, Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), is a young Jewish wife and mother from an affluent Jewish family. Her housewife life falls apart when her Jewish husband (MICHAEL ZEGEN, 39) leaves her for another woman. Eventually, he wants to come back to Midge and their two kids. But by that time, Midge has found out she can be independent and has a real talent for stand-up comedy.

As I have noted before, Emmy-winner Rachel Brosnahan (Mrs. Maisel) is not Jewish. Neither are the actors who play her parents, Abe and Rose Weissman (Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle). However, on the “Maisel” side, the actors are all Jewish: Michael Zegen as Joel Maisel, KEVIN POLLAK, 61, as Joel’s father, and CAROLINE AARON, 66, as Joel’s mother.

A synopsis of each of the second season episodes is now on-line (IMDB.com). Here’s just a few highlights to whet your appetite, should you choose not to look at IMDB: Midge faces challenges like telling her parents that she plans to make comedy her career; several episodes take place at a Jewish Catskills mountain resort where the Weissmans and the Maisels vacation together; and tensions reach a fever pitch at a dinner marking the end of Yom Kippur. A year before, on Yom Kippur day, Joel and Midge separated.

By the way, Amazon Prime Video has just signed a deal with MAYA RUDOLPH, 46, and NATASHA LYONNE, 39, to create original series for them. They are both talented so I look forward to what they come up with.

TV/streaming catch-up

“Two Best Friends: Three Crazy Nights” is a Netflix comedy special that began streaming on Nov. 27. The real-life best friends are comedians DAVE ATTELL and JEFF ROSS, both 53. Part of the special has the duo appearing on stage, cracking jokes and trading insults. There are also some outdoor scenes. The celebs making cameo appearances include BOB SAGET, 62, and GILBERT GOTTFRIED, 63. The special was directed by ANDREW JARECKI, 55, who is best known for directing the hit HBO documentary series “The Jinx” about accused killer ROBERT DURST, 75.

 “The Alec Baldwin Show,” an ABC celebrity interview show hosted by Baldwin, began in October. Baldwin interviews actress SARAH JESSICA PARKER, 53, in the episode airing on Saturday, Dec. 8, at 9 p.m. Topics discussed include the first anniversary of the “times-up” anti-sexual harassment movement and how, as an actress and producer, Parker has had conversations on the set about harassment that often are surprising and never easy. She also talks about her 21-year marriage to actor MATTHEW BRODERICK, 57, and their hopes for the future. I might note that Parker is a “good interview.” A few years ago, David Letterman told JERRY SEINFELD that the best episode (to date) of Seinfeld’s interview series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” was the one featuring Parker. (That episode is on Netflix.)  

A revival/re-boot of “Northern Exposure,” the hit ‘90s series about a Jewish doctor in rural Alaska, is in the works. ROB MORROW, 56, who starred as Dr. Joel Fleischman, is producing the series, which is now in the development stage at CBS. JOSHUA BRAND, 67, who co-created the show, and wrote many original episodes, is described by Variety as the re-boot’s writer. However, nothing is certain: they haven’t even shot a pilot episode or secured the services of the surviving original cast members. 

NBC allows anyone to view past programs, for free, on-line or via the NBC.com app (download app to phone; or use NBC app on Roku or Amazon Fire streaming devices). The Nov. 29 “Law and Order: SVU” episode, entitled “Alta Kockers” (polite Yiddish translation: “old farts”), is worth seeing. JUDD HIRSCH, 83, and WALLACE SHAWN, 75, guest star as reclusive, “alta kocker” Jewish brothers. Simply Google “Law and Order Special Victims Unit episodes” and the first result will take you to this episode and many others.