After being promoted to a series regular in the fourth season, The wonderful Mrs. Maisel Watch Time co-star Luke Kirby hits it big in the fifth and final season of the Amazon comedy as an actor He settled back into recurring guest star status. All told, Kirby’s Lenny Bruce appeared in just two of season 5’s nine episodes (including the series finale, which dropped on Friday; read the recap here).
“We’ve always used Lenny Bruce wisely,” EP Daniel Palladino explains to TVLine in the video above. “It’s always about what the story says. We wanted him to come just for those wise moments where he meant something to Midge and he meant something to Lenny.”
“We were really excited about what we had to do with him” in the final season, Palladino adds. “It was the culmination of everything we had in mind from the beginning.”
Kirby’s waning presence didn’t go unnoticed by co-star Rachel Brosnahan. “I missed Luke,” Midge’s photographer admits. “I love working with Luke and I’ve loved him since season one. He’s one of the only people who’s allowed to be involved in the show and change the pace of it. [He just brings] A different color than this show and it’s so much fun.
Adds Brosnahan: “I really think, in the limited time he’s been there this season, he’s making a huge impact and leaving… huge sign. And it does justice to Lenny’s story.”
For more MaiselSeries finale, including EP Daniel Palladino and series creator/EP Amy Sherman-Palladino’s decision not to show Lenny’s death in the finale, read the postmortem Q&A.