Susan Granger’s review of “Lessons in Chemistry” (Apple TV+)
Looking for something different? Try “Lessons in Chemistry,” based on Bonnie Garmus’s 2022 novel about Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson), a brilliant but solitary scientist who becomes the host of a cooking show, a precursor to Julia Child.
In the 1950s, there were few female chemists, so when Elizabeth Zott was working as a lab tech at the elite Hastings Institute in Los Angeles she was often sexually harassed by male colleagues. But not by the company’s star research scientist, misogynistic Calvin Evans (Lewis Pullman), who respects her scientific acumen.
Plus, he also relishes her cooking, since Elizabeth applies the same demanding standards to her culinary skills, having made the same lasagna dish 78 times, tweaking it a bit differently each time until the recipe is perfection.
It’s no wonder that these two opinionated, socially awkward people become soulmates. Yet when tragedy strikes, pragmatic Elizabeth finds herself pregnant, jobless and a victim of the prevalent patriarchy.
When choosing for a name for her baby girl, the delivery-room nurse suggests she just “go with what you feel right now,” so Elizabeth names her infant daughter Mad.
As years pass, precocious Mad (Alice Halsey) yearns to learn more about her father while Elizabeth hosts “Supper at Six,” where she applies meticulous scientific rigor to basic recipes, explaining to rapt TV audiences how their choice of ingredients affects the food they serve.
Elizabeth’s mantra is: “Cooking is chemistry and chemistry is life. Your ability to change everything, including yourself starts here.”
Meanwhile, she’s befriended by her activist neighbor Harriet Sloane (Aja Naomi King), who heads a years-long campaign to prevent a freeway extension from decimating their predominantly Black neighborhood known as Sugar Hill.
(Harriet’s subplot skims the historical surface of how Sugar Hill attracted affluent Blacks, like Academy Award-winner Hattie McDaniel and musician Ray Charles.)
That this eight-episode series is also a feast for the eyes is the work of Food Consultant/Chef Courtney McBroom and showrunner Lee Eisenberg.
And it’s a pleasure to see Oscar-winning Brie Larson (“Room”) tackling a more emotionally challenging role than cool, quipy Captain Marvel in “The Marvels.”
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Lessons in Chemistry” is an aspirational 8, streaming on Apple TV+.
