Television series

Lessons in Chemistry

Name: Lessons in Chemistry
Genre: Drama
Released: 2023
Cast: Brie Larson, Aja Naomi King, Lewis Pullman, Stephanie Koenig, Patrick Walker

Period drama

A 1950s drama about a female chemist forced into a TV cooking show, where she smuggles science lessons and quiet subversion into every recipe. Brie Larson carries it with intelligence and warmth, finding comedy and heartbreak in the gap between what women were told they could do and what they refused to accept. Earnest, furious, hopeful—a feel-good show that earns it.

TVMaze rating

4.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like sharp, warm stories about a stubborn woman fighting a rigged system with wit and precision, and don't mind a sweetness that occasionally lectures.

Skip it if you want something breezy, because its humour is dry and its grievances are real and rarely far from view.

What it asks of you: Eight episodes of about 45 minutes, unhurried and steady rather than snappy, with scenes that linger on small domestic detail and then turn sharp.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel2017

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MINDHUNTER2017

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Lessons in Chemistry

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Woman of the Year1942

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Screwball comedy about a brilliant political journalist (Katharine Hepburn) who marries a sportswriter (Spencer Tracy). Same-era energy, but inverted: watch what happens when they both have ambition and neither will shrink.

But Black-and-white 1940s pacing. The ending compromises the woman's autonomy in ways modern viewers will notice. Lighter in tone than the miniseries.

Hidden Figures2016

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The Newsroom2012

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Alias Grace2017

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Nurse Jackie2009

Another high-achieving woman breaking rules to survive and thrive in an institution that undervalues her. Funny, painful, deeply human about the cost of being exceptional.

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The Crown2016

Women navigating power, duty, and identity within rigid institutional structures. Beautiful filmmaking and the small rebellions that matter.

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Godless2017

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Fleabag2016

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But Much messier and more anarchic. Sexual and crude where Lessons is tidy. Shorter (six episodes per season) and moves at a sprint.

Arrival2016

Both are about women whose intelligence is a weapon and a gift. Elizabeth uses chemistry; Louise uses language. Both communicate in domains others control, and both have to decide what they're willing to sacrifice for their convictions.

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