Writer/director/producer Michele Palermo had quite an aha moment when her self-produced, independent series Middlehood got a nod of consideration from the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences for not only one Emmy, but ten – including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. Her career has, in fact, been blessed several times with aha moments, beginning with the publishing of her first play “Ladies in Waiting.” A moment she described as “so out of the blue. It was so incredibly unexpected. I remember exactly where I was standing and exactly what I was wearing.”

Palermo is someone you could talk to for hours and never lose interest. I recently had the privilege to speak with her at length and found her to be enchanting, down-to-earth, “real.”

It’s that unique blend of qualities that helped her conceive and bring Middlehood to production.

Palermo defines the term middlehood as “different times for everybody. It’s that moment when you realize you’ve live x amount of years and you have only so many years left. And it kind of takes your breath away.”

This series is very personal for Palermo. The idea began and grew as a result of a real experience she had while visiting her brother’s house for the holidays. Eventually making the pilot on her own, she progressed to raise enough money to make eight episodes.

Palermo says, “This series tells the story of an American immigrant family, and a woman who is at the crossroads of everything in her life.”

But it’s more than that. Palermo relates that “in spite of being fun and funny, it really is about healing and healing families.”

She went on to tell me about a letter she received from a woman in England. Palermo says, “This woman wrote me and said that she had just lost her son two weeks before and somehow came upon Middlehood on Amazon and that the show was not only sort of a place for joy and laughing, but it also helped her heal in a very quiet way. So that was really coming full circle for me. And that’s what I wanted the show to be, and it feels like it is.”

Does Palermo have a message for those would-be writers – especially women – who continue to struggle to develop and produce a project? She says, “First of all, you’re never too old, and it’s never too late. You’re never too young, and it’s never too early. Don’t let people tell you who you are. One of my biggest issues is that by the time students go to film school or go to get their agents, they talk about a brand. ‘What’s your brand?’ Writers shouldn’t have brands (or products). They should have a voice. So the sound bite they’re doing now, about everybody having a brand, I think it kills the creative process. Just don’t take no for an answer.

“And it’s the same message in Middlehood. Lisa, our main character, is really starting to discover who she is within the context of her marriage and family and what she wants to do with her life at 50. And that’s okay. And that’s sort of how it is with women of my generation. I’m Gen X. So women of my generation were told to just wait. Be invited to the table. Don’t be rude. The message is: you’re in charge of your life – even if people have told you to stay back.”

Palermo has worked with some pretty fascinating people – including producer/writer David E. Kelley, who she describes as “a genius. He’s somebody that continues to reinvent himself all the time. He’s like the quirky, funny, L.A. Law out-in-the-field guy and now he’s doing all these serious murders. He’s someone I keep in contact with. He’s a beautiful human being, just really an interesting, creative guy. I just adore him.”

When I asked her who’d she like to work with that she hasn’t, Palermo quickly replied, “Amy Sherman-Palladino. I adore her. I love her. I’m a Gilmore Girl junkie. They only did one season of it, but it was so ambitious. Paris. New York. L.A. It was just unbelievable. She’s by far the best dialogue writer, and I’d love to work with her.”

I think we’re going to see much more from Michele Palermo, and she’s excited to see where Middlehood is going. Summing up, she says, “It took a very long time to find a distributor. I didn’t have a network or a studio or big stars or anything. It was a truly independent show. But it’s really begun to take off. We’re on Amazon and YouTube TV this summer, so we’re really starting to move.”

The Emmy Awards air on Paramount+ and CBS on September 14.