Lessons in Chemistry
AppleTV+ | Release Date: October 12, 2023
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
13
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushOct 13, 2023
Season 1 Review: This terrifically entertaining eight-part series more than meets them [expectations]--think The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as a Ph.D. candidate--as the emotionally repressed Elizabeth opens her life and her heart to memorable characters who challenge and appreciate her. [16 Oct - 5 Nov 2023, p.8]
100
San Francisco ChronicleSusie BrightOct 12, 2023
Season 1 Review: For fans of peak TV, the debut of “Lessons in Chemistry” is a sublime confection that sets a new table for period drama enthusiasts looking for a show with bite. Read full review
100
ColliderCarly LaneSep 29, 2023
Season 1 Review: 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. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comCristina EscobarOct 10, 2023
Season 1 Review: “Lessons in Chemistry” is a joy to watch, an escape with a clear-cut and righteous perspective. Read full review
80
SlateLaura MillerOct 23, 2023
Season 1 Review: Larson does a credible job of playing a character fundamentally at odds with her own story, but it’s the supporting actors—especially King and Pullman, their faces conveying a flickering, complicated vulnerability—who give the series its most moving scenes. Read full review
80
DeciderLiz KocanOct 16, 2023
Season 1 Review: 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. Read full review
80
iMarianne LevyOct 16, 2023
Season 1 Review: This is a well-made and beautifully-envisioned series whose niggles come from not from laziness, but an excess of ambition. Read full review
80
IGNEmma FraserOct 12, 2023
Season 1 Review: Some of the dialogue is rather on the nose, and on occasion, too many ingredients are thrown into the mix. Creator Lee Eisenberg does an impressive job of maintaining the heart of Lessons in Chemistry’s bestselling source material while making some necessary changes. On the whole, it’s a winning recipe. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterAngie HanSep 29, 2023
Season 1 Review: Lessons in Chemistry is far from flawless; even those (like me) who’ve never read the Bonnie Garmus novel on which it’s based will be able to feel the seams where the source material and the adaptation do not quite mesh. Nevertheless, it’s worth tucking into, thanks to an endearing cast, witty dialogue and easily digestible themes. Read full review
75
The Mercury NewsRandy MyersOct 11, 2023
Season 1 Review: “Lessons in Chemistry” could have been tighter (trimmed to six episodes), and a subplot about Black neighbor Harriet (Aja Naomi King) fighting racial injustice could be more developed. Still, “Chemistry” comes up with a winning formula in the end. Read full review
70
ABC NewsPeter TraversOct 13, 2023
Season 1 Review: Though tonal shifts from comedy to calamity break its stride, 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 a feminist charge. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 12, 2023
Season 1 Review: Subtle, it’s not. But it is entertaining, thanks to some outstanding performances, particularly from Larson. Read full review
70
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertOct 12, 2023
Season 1 Review: An enjoyable, gorgeously designed, but somewhat flat miniseries that takes on acute sexism in midcentury America. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonOct 11, 2023
Season 1 Review: There is very little that's intentionally funny about "Lessons in Chemistry," although some of the dialogue is amusingly insipid. The Oscar-winning Ms. Larson nevertheless makes it a very watchable series, as does the gifted Lewis Pullman as Elizabeth's lover and near-intellectual equal Calvin Evans. Read full review
69
Paste MagazineKaiya ShunyataOct 11, 2023
Season 1 Review: When it jumps back to focusing on Elizabeth’s life as a woman trying to plant her feet in the soil of a world that seems too small for her, Lessons in Chemistry strives to hold on to its initial greatness, though it doesn’t completely stick the landing. Read full review
65
The Daily Beast Fletcher PetersOct 26, 2023
Season 1 Review: While the love story and the cooking scenes are delightful to watch, the rest of Lessons in Chemistry droops. Bonnie Garmus wrote her novel so cinematically that, when actually adapted, there’s no room for creative liberty. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineRoss McIndoeOct 6, 2023
Season 1 Review: Though the series might seem like a formulaic underdog tale, it’s not afraid to scramble that formula up, from a shocking character death to a voiceover from the perspective of a labradoodle. That said, not all of the risks pay off. Read full review
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