Critically acclaimed ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ is Emmy bound

Jacob Sarkisian
·4 min read
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“Lessons in Chemistry” is Apple TV’s shiny new limited series and it looks like the streaming service has another major Emmy player. Oscar winner Brie Larson is Elizabeth Zott, a lab technician in the 1960s who takes up a gig as the host of a cooking show and uses her position to educate women about scientific topics. “The Office” writer and director and “Jury Duty” creator Lee Eisenberg adapted Bonnie Garmus‘ book of the same name. Critics were effusive in their praise of the show.

Peter Travers (ABC News) wrote: “This fierce, funny and vital series tackles a mid-century battle for women’s rights through the eyes of a chemist—an Emmy-bound Brie Larson—who uses a local TV cooking show to lead the charge.”

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Cristina Escobar (Roger Ebert) noted: “Lee Eisenberg crafts an aspirational fairytale, building a positively lovely universe and central heroine to spend eight episodes with.”

Matthew Creith (The Wrap) observed: “The series is an audacious adaptation of the source material and a showcase for its impressive cast and sublime writing. Larson’s first television series lead performance is implemented with gravitas and courage.”

Liz Kocan (Decider) proclaimed: “‘Lessons In Chemistry’ contains layers of ingredients that build on and play off of each other: romance, drama, history, the second wave of feminism, all snuggled neatly into a 13 x 9 pan. When combined, they’re all greater than the sum of their parts.”

Carly Lane (Collider) stated: “To paraphrase Elizabeth Zott herself, take some time to yourself to embark on the journey Lessons in Chemistry lays out. You’ll probably be surprised by the turns it takes, but that doesn’t make the end result any less satisfying.”

This cracking critical consensus will be the cornerstone of the Emmy campaign. It’s 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes puts the show in a strong position, particularly as that outpaces three of last year’s five nominees for Best Limited Series: “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (82%), “Daisy Jones and the Six” (69%), and “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (57%). Only “Beef” (98%) and “Fleishman is in Trouble” (87%) fared better.

Plus, Apple knows how to secure these nominations. “Ted Lasso” won two awards for Best Comedy Series while “Severance” was nominated for Best Drama Series and “Shrinking,” “Bad Sisters,” “Black Bird,” and “The Morning Show” all contended in key categories, including acting, directing, and writing. The streaming service knows how to navigate Emmy campaigns and “Lessons in Chemistry” looks to be next, particularly as it has already picked up several key bids already.

“Lessons in Chemistry” was nominated for Best Limited Series at both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards earlier this year. It lost both awards to “Beef,” which was in contention at last year’s Emmys rather than this year, so “Lessons in Chemistry” could very well be the favorite for the award.

We just haven’t seen it compete purely with other shows from the coming Emmy campaign. The Apple TV+ show also picked up SAG, DGA, WGA, and ACE Eddies nominations, too, so it’s got the support of the major guilds.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, period dramas tend to do very well in the Best Limited Series category. “Daisy Jones and the Six” and “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” were both nominated last year while “WandaVision,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” “The Underground Railroad,” “Mrs. America,” “Fosse/Verdon,” “Chernobyl,” and plenty more have all reaped bids in the Best Limited Series category. “Lessons in Chemistry” fits right alongside those names.

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