The message of found community that undergirds Lessons in Chemistry parallels the experience the cast and crew had on the set of the Apple TV+ drama.
“I cannot overstate what a beautiful collaboration this was,” says showrunner Lee Eisenberg of the series about a chemist turned cooking show host struggling with loss and the unpredictability of life. “If we had an hour, I would tick off about 100 names of people that I would not be talking to you if not for them.”
Chief among them would be actors Brie Larson, Aja Naomi King and Lewis Pullman, who all scored Emmy nominations for their work on the adaptation of Bonnie Garmus’ novel of the same name, which is also up for outstanding limited series. Eisenberg chats with THR about how his most important role on the project was letting everyone’s expertise shine.
Who did you speak with first when you heard the nomination news?
The first person I called was Brie. We’ve become really close friends, and I was just so thrilled for her. The show would not exist without her. I would not be part of the show without her, and the performance she delivered, every time I see it, it takes my breath away. She poured so much into that [role], and I think you feel it in every single scene and every single moment.
This was your first solo writing project in 18 years. What does this nomination affirm for you?
Every show is its own beast and has its own challenges, and I get excited by a project when there’s something that I feel connected to within it. So, for this, my wife and I had just had our daughter at the time that I started working on this, and there was so much about parenting and motherhood and building connections and building a found family, and that really was resonant for me. It’s not like my background was in science — I do have a love for cooking and I really enjoy it, so that was something that was exciting to me — but really, it was about love and loss and resilience, and that was really what resonated most for me when I read Bonnie Garmus’ brilliant book and what I felt like I had some something to say about and something to add to that conversation.
You and Brie share a love of cooking.
My backup plan, had writing not worked out, I think, was going to be culinary school. I love to cook. I love to entertain. I love food as connection and bringing people together. For my 40th birthday, I rented out a friend’s restaurant, Animal, on Fairfax, and I was the chef for the night. I spent a large portion of my birthday plating food for others — which, by the way, was a great joy. My friends were my sous chefs and we cooked for 50 people.
That’s a perfect segue into asking how you pulled off writing episodes as you were filming this series, with all the other responsibilities of being a showrunner. Sounds like you’re good at managing people.
I think I hire very well and I’m thoughtful about it. The only way I know how to showrun is by having the smartest people around me, challenging me constantly and feeling like a true collaboration. When you build trust and you kind of have repeat business where you’re working with the same people over and over again, you just start to develop a shorthand. I really try to empower people, and I don’t need to be right. What’s most important is giving people the confidence to make bold choices, which I think will make me look good. I also know what I don’t know, and I think a lot about time management. For a show like Lessons in Chemistry, the writing was really at an accelerated pace and that was my responsibility and no one else could do that in the way that I believed that I could.
This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
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