Why Aren’t You Watching Mozart in the Jungle

Why Aren’t You Watching Mozart in the Jungle,
There was a moment when Mozart in the Jungle—Amazon’s dreamy little series about the busy, sometimes bitchy inner world of the New York classical music scene—almost snapped into the zeitgeist. It was the 2016 Golden Globes, and the series, which had just launched its second season, picked up two statuettes for best comedy and best actor in a comedy (for star Gael Garcia Bernal). The twin wins inspired a rash of frantic tweets and Google searches, with startled TV viewers wondering how this show (the “her?” of that year’s Globes) could have beaten out critical favorites like Master of None and Transparent.

The general consensus? This was yet another case of the Globes being the Globes, anointing an unpredictable choice for the hell of it. Instead of those wins proving that Mozart was a series worth watching, the series never really found a way to tap into the collective consciousness of mainstream viewers—even after the Globes. But here’s the thing about Mozart in the Jungle: its first season was lovely. Its second and third seasons were lovely. And its fourth season, which debuted Friday on Amazon, is lovelier and looser still, proving exactly why more people should have been paying attention to this delightful show all along.

This year, the conceit is the same as it’s ever been, more or less. The series—co-created by Roman Coppola, Alex Timbers, and Jason Schwartzman, who occasionally drops by for cameos—follows a whimsical composer named Rodrigo (Bernal), a rock star in the world of classical music who is swept in to revamp the New York Symphony. Once there, he meets Hailey Rutledge (played by Lola Kirke)—whose first name he charmingly pronounces like “jai alai”—a sweet, fledgling oboist trying to work her way into the upper echelon of the classical scene. She settles for being Rodrigo’s assistant, at first, sparking a bond that has blossomed and transformed over the course of the last few seasons. The rest of the cast is equally lovable. Broadway legend Bernadette Peters plays the no-nonsense president of the symphony, who favors a Betty Boop–esque wardrobe. Malcolm McDowell plays the cantankerous conductor emeritus. Saffron Burrows plays the symphony’s sultry cellist, and Hannah Dunne plays Hailey’s floaty, hipster best friend.