Lessons in Chemistry–A Delicious Dose

Based upon Bonnie Garmus’s bestselling blockbuster of the same name,  the AppleTV+ mini-series Lessons in Chemistry opens in 1961, at the cusp of the feminist and civil rights revolutions.  Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson, Academy Award-winning actress of “Room”),  a highly educated and talented chemist, has taken a job as a low-level lab tech supporting  an all- male team of chemists at a renowned research institute.  The major problem:  none of the male chemists see her as a peer.

However, one equally brilliant chemist, Calvin Evans (Lewis Pullman), sees her for who she really is and falls in love with her, drawn to her brilliance:   true chemistry in the laboratory. They soon are discovering  a pioneering chemical analysis of DNA.  (Perhaps echoing the chemist Rosalind Franklin 1920-1958, whose crystallography revealed the double helix structure of DNA. Or perhaps Elizabeth Zott is modeled after Julia Child, for her pioneering 1963 series, “The French Chef”, anticipating the women’s movement and homemakers’ issues. Foundational changes in women’s mindset about what they could do and what they were allowed to do would soon become revolutionary.)

Fast forward.   After tragedy almost overwhelms her, Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but unemployed and debt-ridden.  By a stroke of incredible luck, a TV producer respectful of  her intelligence and willing to risk his own reputation, supports her as the reluctant star of what becomes the  most popular cooking show “Supper at Six”. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking–a lesson in chemistry in each episode–demonstrates to her overwhelmingly female audience that they have brains and should use them, regardless of what the social norms are.   Not everyone is happy–especially the studio executives and major sponsors.  Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to live the lives they deserve.

Brie Larson’s nuanced portrayal of Elizabeth Zott is a magnificent highlight in this highly entertaining mini-series.  She brings a dose of depth and authenticity to a character who defies societal norms and fights for her place in the male-dominated field of chemistry. 

Enjoy this excellent portrayal of life in the early sixties, and its chronicling of a turbulent time in US history with a slight dash of humor.

Availability:  Apple+

Note:  See the March 22, 2021 article, “Sexism in Science: Was Rosalind Franklin Robbed of a Nobel Prize”?