The screen adaptation of the Bonnie Garmus award-winning novel Lessons in Chemistry has hit Apple TV+. The Brie Larson-led miniseries premiered with two of the eight episodes, garnering critical acclaim for its portrayal of science, love, sexism, and racism in the 1950s.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Lessons in Chemistry Premise
Larson stars as scientist Elizabeth Zott, a masters-level scientist with an affinity for cooking who faces misogyny from every co-worker and superior at the lab that employs her until she meets Calvin Evans (Lewis Pullman), a revered scientist who’s never considered sexism as a concept, strikes up a partnership in the lab with Zott based on her promising research, only to fall in love with her.
Changes From the Book Make for Deeper Themes
In just two episodes of Lessons in Chemistry, the series has already strayed noticeably from the book. The structure of the storytelling has been altered a bit to make it more cinematic, and certain small details have been changed, most of which are inconsequential. The biggest difference between the book and the show is one of character – in the book, Calvin’s neighbor Harriet (Aja Naomi King) did not have a relationship with him of any sort, nor did she have any involvement in civil rights, both of which she has in the series.
This change in characterization has allowed the show to broaden the story’s scope. Rather than just addressing one pervasive social issue of the ‘50s, it can address another one: racism. The first two episodes have already included a new subplot of Harriet working to stop the city from starting construction in her backyard on account of her family’s skin color, and we imagine this will continue throughout the next six in the miniseries.
Lewis Pullman and Brie Larson in ‘Lessons in Chemistry’
The book’s main theme, however, is still prominent in the show, even with the additional subplot. Elizabeth faces discrimination because of her gender at every turn, from both the men and the women she works with. Given the sudden death of Calvin at the end of the second episode, we’ll see that continue as Elizabeth has now lost both her lover and her only ally at work.
For book-to-screen adaptation purists, these alterations might make the show less appealing, but ultimately they give the characters more depth and allow viewers to consider the cross-section of various discriminations of a bygone era that are unfortunately still very present in the world today. We’re interested to see how these changes unfold.
Lessons in Chemistry is streaming now on Apple TV+.
