Why Lenny Bruce's Death Wasn't Part of 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's Final Season (Exclusive)

etonline.com:

While drew plenty of inspiration from real-life celebrities of the 1960s over the course of its five-season run, none were more central to the journey of Rachel Brosnahan's titular comedienne than Lenny Bruce, played by Luke Kirby.While only appearing in a few episodes per season, Kirby's Lenny had a profound impact on Midge as she traversed the grueling world of stand-up comedy.

Whether they were sharing the backseat of a police car after being arrested or sharing the stage at The Gaslight, Lenny was a touchstone to the industry for Midge and a constant cheerleader if ever she started to doubt her talents.With 's series finale debuting on Friday — and the use of flash-forwards employed throughout the final season — many wondered how, or even if, the show would address the real-life fate of Bruce, who died of a drug overdose in 1966.The finale kicks off with Lenny onstage in 1965 San Francisco, a recreation of one of the final shows of the real-life comic's career.

He's in bad shape, distracted and ranting about his ongoing legal issues. (The real-life Bruce was arrested multiple times for obscenity, due to the nature of his comedy act.) Susie tries to reason with him backstage, but Midge can't even bring herself to see him.«He's a mess, Miriam,» Susie tells her, referring to Bruce's real, and serious, issues with heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid, which would lead to his death the next year.While the episode's final flash-forward takes viewers all the way to 2005 — where Midge and Susie have reconciled, and regularly talk on the phone — nothing more is mentioned about Lenny, which creator and EP Amy Sherman-Palladino told ET was an intentional choice from the beginning.«Everybody knows what happened to Lenny Bruce,».