Lessons in Chemistry, released October 13, 2023, on Apple TV, is a show based on the novel by Bonnie Garmus. The story follows the life of Elizabeth Zott a female chemist in the late 50’s early 60’s before women were acknowledged in the science field. It also follows her romance with Calvin Evans, the main scientist at the lab who has a brash personality to most people and the impact of their relationship on her life.
The show explains how Zott’s life has played out by jumping back and forth from Zott’s job as a cooking tv show host to the things that shaped her journey in her past.
Brie Larson, who plays Zott, does a wonderful job portraying her character in a manner that allows the audience to both relate to her and notice how she processes things differently than others. Larson’s performance in the show proved that she is such a better actress then shown in her role as Captain Marvel in the MCU.
The best part of the show is watching the relationship between Zott and Evans flourish out of an unpleasant first encounter. Both Larson and Lewis Pullman, who plays Evans, depict the chemistry between the two in a natural way; for instance, having Evans teach Zott his main hobby, rowing. Their relationship brought out the best in both characters. Both characters differ from how they are in the book with Zott being more disconnected from society and Evans being less rude to everyone around him.
The most disappointing part of the show was the lack of screentime for Zott’s dog, 6:30. 6:30 narrates through a dog’s perspective many off the events in Zott’s life. It was also unnecessary to change why he was named 6:30, which is discussed multiple times in the book as being the time that Zott found him.
The introduction of Harriet as a civil rights activist added something more to the show and offered contemplation towards the topic. Since Elizabeth is more egotistical in the show than the book, it is nice to see her work towards something bigger than herself. Harriet’s storyline with Evans also allows her character to develop in a natural way.
Overall, this show did a good job of changing the book into an interesting show for both people who had read the book and those who had not. This show gets a 4/5 shields.
