Lessons in Chemistry: The Biggest Changes Apple TV+'s Adaptation Makes From the Book

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from Lessons In Chemistry's first two episodes on Apple TV+.

Sauce up those lasagnas and dust off the beakers, because Brie Larson is officially schooling viewers on the direct correlation between a home-cooked meal and scientific discovery.

Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus' 2022 debut novel, spent more than 70 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and the TV rights were snatched up by Apple TV+ before it was even published. The story features an ahead-of-her-time chemist named Elizabeth Zott (Larson) and tackles all kinds of themes including toxic masculinity, women in STEM, motherhood, and misogyny. 

Just like the book, the eight-episode miniseries follows Zott as she is forced to shelve her scientific dreams due to tragic life circumstances and societal expectations. Instead of succumbing, she takes a job as the host of a TV cooking show and becomes the beacon of change for overlooked housewives everywhere. 

Still, over the first two episodes, there are many notable changes made in the adaptation from book to screen. Here are five of the biggest differences from the show's source material following Lessons in Chemistry's TV debut. 

Transformed Characters

The biggest and most notable change from the books is in the depiction of Zott's neighbor, Harriet Sloan. In the series, Aja Naomi King portrays Harriet as a young Black mother. She is an advocate for her neighborhood, a stand-up community member, and a friend of Calvin Evans' (Lewis Pullman) who often asks the scientist to babysit for her. Notably, her husband serves in the Korean War. 

In the novels, Harriet is much older. Her children have grown and moved out, and she has become the street busybody with many, many opinions — in particular about Elizabeth. Harriet has an abusive, alcoholic husband but eventually befriends Elizabeth. She becomes invaluable in helping to raise her neighbor's daughter, and is the inspiration behind Elizabeth's catchphrase on Supper at Six.

Calvin Evans is Downright Charming

There's no denying Lewis Pullman's leading man status as Calvin Evans in Lessons in Chemistry. He and Larson share palpable chemistry and their relationship is fun to watch (well, it is until that big moment at the end of Episode 2 happens, anyhow). There's nothing truly unlikable about Calvin despite what those around him claim, aside from his initial blip with Elizabeth over stolen lab equipment.

In the book, Calvin was more of a know-it-all, Sheldon Cooper-type who struggled throughout his entire life. He held major grudges and wanted to protect Elizabeth (herself reminiscent of Amy Farrah Fowler) more than anything. In fact both screen characters are more charismatic than their book alter-egos were. It's a necessary change, considering there is less time to fall in love with the characters and their idiosyncrasies on-screen than there was in the novel. 

Calvin's likeability is absolutely important by the time the second episode ends, when that life-altering event takes place. Speaking of, that moment is also slightly tweaked from the book. On the page, Elizabeth forces Calvin to put a leash on their dog, which results in crippling guilt for the character going forward.

Rowing As a Lifeline

Rowing is present in Lessons in Chemistry, and it does help to bring Elizabeth and Calvin together. However in the novel, the rowing is much more prominent and important to the overall storyline. It's through the college sport that Calvin and Dr. Donatti (played by Derek Cecil in the series) first established a rivalry. Rowing also further established Calvin's gender equality convictions, as he invited Elizabeth onto his team (much to the annoyance of certain members). 

Weather and rowing were also what led Calvin to move where he did, work where he worked, and make many of the life decisions he made. As the novel progressed, rowing also became a constant that Elizabeth relied on in her life, despite the fact that she couldn't — as the TV series echoes — initially swim. 

The Toxic Workplace

If some of Donatti's schemes and lines make you cringe on the TV series, they're nothing compared to the internal plotting that goes on in the book. That's because in the book, some chapters are dedicated to Donatti's point-of-view, where readers learn why he has developed so much hatred toward Calvin and realize how willing he is to hurt Elizabeth to get back at him. In the first two episodes, Donatti isn't quite the villain yet, although he is blatantly sexist toward Elizabeth and motivated to push Calvin in order to keep his own job.   

He isn't the only one who hates the couple, either. Receptionist Fran Frask (Stephanie Koenig) is a nuisance to Elizabeth in the first two episodes, pushing for her to join the company beauty pageant and giving her lots of "friendly" warnings about joining Evans' team. However, in the books she is much more spiteful of Elizabeth and her "immoral" decisions. She holds a firm belief in how women should exist, and wants Elizabeth punished for not following that code. It makes for a strong narrative, and gives Fran an interesting journey as the novel progresses. 

Elizabeth's Love of Cooking

In the first episode, we learn that Elizabeth has spent countless hours perfecting her lasagna recipe. She also mentions that she likes to cook in her spare time. The enjoyment the character gets from whipping up a hearty meal (not to mention all of the delicious food she cooks as a result) is key to bringing her and Calvin together. However it's a "passion" that is a lot more subdued in the book and is an afterthought in the main relationship.

In the book, Elizabeth still becomes a TV host who shows women how to cook food for their families. But to her cooking is, and has always been, about the chemistry. That is what she wanted to be known for, to the point of turning down Calvin's marriage proposal and refusing to let him help her get funding at work. Everything she earned, she wanted to do it on her own merit. 

Cooking was a way to supply her body with all of the required nutrients and nothing more than that. She didn't work at perfecting it so much as she was already perfect at it, because she was all about perfecting chemistry. But, as Elizabeth proves with her show, lessons in cooking really are lessons in chemistry. It just depends on your point of view.

Lessons in Chemistry is streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes every Friday.