What We Know About Milo Ventimiglia’s Mysterious Mrs. Maisel Character

As far back as 2018, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel co-creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino promised Milo Ventimiglia would appear on the show. “Don’t think it has not been discussed!” Amy told Variety of a possible reunion with Ventimiglia, who starred on the Palladinos’ hit 2000s series Gilmore Girls as the resident bad boy Jess. All they needed was the right timing. “It’s got to be the right part,” Amy continued. “It can’t be just a cameo. It’s got to have some meat to it. And it’s also got to be a time when he can shave and cut his hair into a 1950s-period look. But the reuniting will definitely happen.”

Now, the time has finally arrived: Ventimiglia is set to appear in the upcoming fourth season of Maisel, though details of his character have been kept tightly under wraps. Even after paparazzi captured photos of him and star Rachel Brosnahan (Midge) in a park, Ventimiglia declined to elaborate about his role. “It looked like there were some flowers around, looked like there was a lot of conversation and laughter… I think that’s kind of all people need to know for the moment,” he told TVLine earlier this month, adding that his character has a “a brief memorable moment” that’s “possibl[e] to be repeated.”

Michael Zegen, who plays Midge’s ex-husband Joel, gave similarly vague answers when asked whether Ventimiglia’s character dates Midge, saying only that Joel will be “insanely jealous” of “any guy who ends up with Midge” no matter who he is.

Brosnahan and Alex Borstein — who plays Midge’s manager Susie — seemingly shed some light on Ventimiglia’s character during a press junket for Season 4. When asked how Ventimiglia’s presumably “meaty” role plays into Midge’s romantic journey, Brosnahan surprisingly deferred to Borstein, who starred on Gilmore Girls alongside Ventimiglia. “He’s my meat,” Borstein told Bustle. “Susie finally gets to explore her carnal side, and Dan and Amy said, you know, who would I really like to work with? And I said Milo. And then I got to do a reading and a chemistry read and the rest is filthy history.”

“He brought those meaty thighs to Maisel-land,” Brosnahan jokingly added.

However, it’s unclear if Borstein was being serious, as she made a similar (and seemingly joking allusion) in an interview with Access, adding that she and Ventimiglia’s character even “swap clothing.”

Until Ventimiglia pops up, we’ll have to just wait and see.

Additional reporting by Brad Witter.