Despite it being one of its best originals of the past couple of years, Max has made very little fuss over Julia. It needs to make more. The dramedy portraying iconic television chef and cookbook author Julia Child’s rise to fame is back for its second season, and it’s just as warm and lovely as its first.
‘Julia’ Picks Up Where It Left Off
Season 1 of Julia ended with the titular chef agreeing to film a second season of her television show so long as she was allowed to spend some time back in France with Simone “Simca” Beck, Julia’s friend and cookbook co-author. Season 2 picks up in the south of France with Julia and Simca relaxing with their husbands, developing new recipes for their next cookbook, and entertaining another legendary culinary figure, James Beard. Meanwhile, back in America, the station is struggling with programming sans The French Chef, and Judith Jones and Blanche Knopf are at odds professionally.
Julia shines for a multitude of reasons. Sarah Lancashire plays Julia Child wonderfully, balancing her joie de vivre and joie de cuisiner with more dour moments like her fights with Simca and mixed emotions over returning to the United States to continue filming The French Chef. Additionally, the character of Julia does not overwhelm the story. With a character as formidable as Julia Child, and given her distinct personality, it would be easy for the show to be a vortex of one character. Instead, Lancashire and the rest of the cast, notably David Hyde Pierce, Fiona Glascott, Bebe Neuwirth, and Brittany Bradford, mesh beautifully, and much more is shown than just Julia Child with a pan and a cleaver.
Sarah Lancashire in ‘Julia’
An Excellent Series Overshadowed by Other Network Favorites
Much to its credit, Julia is not overdramatized. Not every detail of the show is historically accurate, but it’s not so sensationalized that it’s an egregious misrepresentation of history or Julia Child’s legacy. However, this could be why Julia hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves. The show pays homage to Julia Child rather than creating a story loosely based on her life, and it doesn’t serve the drama audiences eat up in shows like Succession, The Last of Us, or The Righteous Gemstones.
Don’t let the lack of overt drama preclude giving Julia a chance. It won’t raise blood pressures with plot twists or leave jaws ajar with cliffhangers, but it will comfort and soothe, just like Julia Child did through her own work.
Julia is streaming now on Max.