'Lessons In Chemistry': Differences Between the Book and Show
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Lessons in Chemistry is finally on AppleTV+, which means fans of Bonnie Garmus’ bestselling novel are on the lookout for any and all ways the show is different from its beloved source material.
Like the book, the series tells the story of Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson), a young woman who’s dead-set on working as a chemist despite the odds stacked against her in 1950s America. When she falls for the brilliant and mysterious Calvin Evans (Lewis Pullman), her life and career are forever changed, in part by tragedy. The series has some stark differences from the book on which it's based, and some of those departures are likely to have bigger impacts on the story than others. Let’s take a look at the liberties taken so far, but beware of major spoilers ahead.
Related: Everything to Know About the 'Lessons in Chemistry' Adaptation, Including Who Is In the Cast
Differences between the Lessons in Chemistry book and show
In the show, Elizabeth Zott is a lab tech at Hastings; in the book, she's an undervalued chemist.
Both versions of the story depict Elizabeth Zott as a Hastings employee who is underestimated, mocked and loathed for her brains and ambition. But the TV version has her working as a lab tech at the research institute, whereas the book has her staffed as an actual chemist, albeit one without a PhD or status. (The novel does eventually see the despicable Dr. Donatti demote Elizabeth to lab tech when she asks for her job back years after Cal’s death.)
The show features a Little Miss Pageant, which is nowhere to be found in the book.
The competition serves a few narrative purposes on the show: It introduces us to the insufferable head of personnel, Fran Frask (Stephanie Koenig), who we first meet in the book in a scene that takes place in the staff cafeteria. It lets us know what Hastings really thinks of its women employees (very little!). And it establishes that Zott doesn't fit the mold. When asked what her fantasy honeymoon location would be, she shocks the crowd by saying she doesn't intend to get married.
Elizabeth steals a bottle of ribose from Cal's lab as opposed to a bunch of beakers.
In the show, Elizabeth stays after-hours to conduct her research (a big no-no) and sneaks into Cal's lab one night to take a bottle of ribose. This contrasts with the book, which sees her first request beakers from Cal—then take them on her own accord when he rebuffs her ask. The fallout is the same: Cal dismisses her as a secretary only to learn that she's, in fact, a chemist. He's intrigued.
Related: How to Watch the Marvel Movies in Order of Story
Cal vomits due to an allergic reaction to Mrs. Donatti's perfume rather than from food poisoning on a date.
On screen, the unfortunate incident takes place at the pageant; in the novel, it goes down outside of a movie theater. In both cases, it leads to an awkward, splatter-y encounter with Elizabeth that ends with her taking Cal home.
Harriet is a young woman with two little kids and a respected husband rather than an older woman with four grown children and an abusive, alcoholic spouse.
Harriet (Aja Naomi King) appears much earlier in the TV show than she does in the book, and she's even close friends with Cal, who occasionally babysits her children. (In the books, she shows up only after Cal is dead and Elizabeth has given birth; however, she admits to having spied on the couple for months before then.) The on-screen Harriet is also a politically active legal-aide who's opposed to city plans to build a freeway through her predominantly Black neighborhood.
Book readers may wonder what the changes to Harriet's character might mean for her and Supper at Six producer Walter, with whom she has a relationship in the novel. Unless something happens to Harriet's husband while he's serving in Korea (another departure from the book), it seems like she and Walter aren't going to end up together in the series.
AppleTV+
Elizabeth's PTSD is much more prominent on the show than it is in the books.
In both the book and the show, Elizabeth is raped by a professor at UCLA, which leads to her quiet dismissal from the school (and explains why she has a masters but not a PhD). The series, however, more explicitly depicts how Elizabeth was affected by the assault. There are multiple scenes in which she panics when a man (including Cal) closes a door with her in the room.
The university requests a formal "statement of regret" from Elizabeth after her rape.
In the book, this request comes from the police. In both cases, Elizabeth refuses to deliver said statement. "I regret not having more pencils," she said. (She stabbed her rapist with a No. 2 pencil.)
Elizabeth finds Six-Thirty, her dog, rifling through garbage cans at her house—before she and Cal are a couple.
In the book, she and Cal decide to get a dog together (rather than have children), and Elizabeth meets Six-Thirty on a walk home.
Elizabeth names her dog Six-Thirty because that's when he wakes her up in the morning.
In the novel, the dog is named for the time Elizabeth met him. Related: It's unclear if the TV version of Six-Thirty used to be a bomb-sniffing dog as he was in the novel, but that seems unlikely at this point.
Cal asks Elizabeth to try rowing before they’re a couple.
In the book, he proposes she start rowing with him after they're already living together. There are also no scenes in the show (at least not so far) in which she meets any other rowers or competes on the water.
AppleTV+
Elizabeth bought a leash for Cal for Christmas (“I thought Six-Thirty should be a running buddy," she says).
In the book, Cal and Six-Thirty were already running buddies, and a leash comes into play when Elizabeth insists Cal start using one in case Six-Thirty gets spooked by fireworks and runs off.
Cal is hit by a bus, not run over by a cop car.
In the book, Cal takes Six-Thirty for a pre-dawn run to Hastings and a firecracker sets the dog off, leading Cal to slip and crack his head open. While he's bleeding out on the ground, a cop car backs over him.
Cal doesn't propose in the cafeteria.
In the book, Elizabeth turns down Cal's proposal; in the show, the proposal never happens.
Cal and Elizabeth don't exchange stories about their families.
There's a scene in Episode 2 in which Cal and Elizabeth, having stayed together at Hastings for the holiday, exchange passing comments about why they aren't with their families. He says everyone he loves is dead; she says she hasn't seen her family since she was seventeen. At this point in the book, however, the characters have revealed much more of their backstories, like how Cal grew up in an all-boys' orphanage and how Elizabeth was raised by a grifter father and lost her brother to suicide.
Given how heavily Cal's backstory in particular plays into the ending of the book, could it be that the show wraps up differently than its source material? Keep checking back for weekly updates as the show airs.
Next, Everything to Know About 'Palm Royale,' the Star-Studded Comedy Coming to Apple TV+
