Brie Larson is coming to Apple TV+ in the 2023 TV schedule as star of Lessons in Chemistry, the limited series adaptation of the novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus. The Captain Marvel leading lady plays Elizabeth Zott, a 1950s chemist trying to establish herself in a field dominated by men. She becomes host of a TV cooking show that allows her to apply her chemistry skills in ways that help the women beyond recipes. Courtney McBroom worked as food consultant for Lessons in Chemistry, and she opened up to CinemaBlend about what inspired her about Larson as Elizabeth.
The food consultant for the series that could become one of the best Apple TV+ shows worked with the writers, producers, and Brie Larson to find the “vibe of the food” as well as how they wanted it took look and “to be woven into the story to tell the larger story.” The Lessons in Chemistry trailer already showed how Elizabeth Zott is going to inspire the women of her time when applying her chemistry skills to the kitchen; when I spoke with Courtney McBroom about her role as food consultant, she explained what that message meant to her as a professional in her field:
It was so inspiring. I felt like there was so much, I saw so much of myself in Elizabeth Zott. And I think that will be the case with a lot of women who watch the show. It’s such a universal thing that she goes through, like having to battle her way to get to a place where she feels like she needs to be, coming up against wall after wall, but her tenacity, being misunderstood often, but standing in her own firm ground of who she is as a person and not backing down. I found that so inspiring, so lovely, and really, really, really related to it a lot. [laughs]
The food consultant was already optimistic that that Apple TV+ subscribers can also feel inspired by the leading lady, since some of the struggles that Elizabeth faces in the 1950s are still relatable today. While it remains to be seen how the show adapted the most unforgettable moments from Bonnie Garmus’ novel, the Lessons in Chemistry premiere date is fortunately almost here.
The new series can also showcase a different side of Brie Larson than her fans may have seen before, and she’s an executive producer as well as star of the Lessons in Chemistry cast. When I asked the food consultant if it was helpful to work with Larson as both producer and star, Courtney McBroom explained:
Yes, Brie is an incredibly talented human. That’s no secret. She and I are friends, but I’d never seen her work on set. And that was so awesome. She’s so good at what she does. Just watching her like, memorize lines of script and then saying them perfectly to the camera was so great. And she’s so brilliant as well on the stuff that she brought to the table as a producer was priceless. She did such a good job all around.
Brie Larson is already an Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winner at this point, so as Courtney McBroom noted, it’s “no secret” that she’s very talented at what she does. For Lessons in Chemistry, that applies to her work as both actress and executive producer. All signs point toward a show that works some chemistry magic with food while telling a compelling story about a woman trying to establish herself in her field when a patriarchal society works to keep her out.
The cast also includes Top Gun: Maverick‘s Lewis Pullman, How to Get Away with Murder‘s Aja Naomi King, The Flight Attendant‘s Stephanie Koenig, The Big Bang Theory‘s Kevin Sussman, and Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty‘s Thomas Mann in addition to Brie Larson. The first two episodes of Lessons in Chemistry will premiere on Friday, October 13 at 12:01 a.m. ET on Apple TV+, with the next six episodes releasing weekly on Fridays. Be sure to tune in to see Brie Larson’s inspiring performance as Elizabeth Zott!