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‘Lessons in Chemistry’: Get to Know the Characters of Apple’s New Series

Originally posted on TV Insider | Last updated 10/8/23

Meet the characters that form the nucleus of this captivating 1950s drama Lessons in Chemistry — based on Bonnie Garmus’ bestseller — about a brilliant chemist turned TV cooking show host.

Elizabeth Zott

As sharp as the pencil she tucks into her hair, Zott (Oscar winner Brie Larson) goes from a lab assistant thwarted by sexism to presenting the hit Supper at Six, which teaches housewives about science and self-worth. Her journey is messy, tragic, and relatable.

(Credit: Apple TV+)

Calvin Evans

Zott’s equally smart lover and work-focused feminist colleague (Lewis Pullman, Top Gun: Maverick) makes the cover of Scientific American, but his research really takes off when he and Zott team up in the lab. Like Zott, he has a complicated family history.

Harriet Sloane

The couple’s neighbor is quite different from Garmus’ white, middle-aged character. This Harriet (Aja Naomi King, How to Get Away With Murder) is a mom whose husband is stationed in Korea. She is fighting a freeway expansion in their mainly Black neighborhood.

Six-Thirty

Zott and Calvin’s loyal canine lets us in on his thoughts in the third episode, revealing his traumatic backstory. What the pup says about his life with the couple is an idea that resonates through the series: “I felt safe. I felt love. And love can change things.”

Lessons in Chemistry, Series Premiere, Friday, October 13, Apple TV+

This article first appeared on TV Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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