The legendary home cook, Julia Child, is an inspiration to many including the likes of Martha Stewart and Ina Garten. But when you think of Julia Child you can’t help but think of the iconic performance by Meryl Streep in the film Julie & Julia.
Well, step aside Meryl as there is a new player in town, Sarah Lancashire is playing Julia Child in what can only be described as an outstanding performance that leaves you salivating for more. The life of Julia Child and how her inspirational cooking show came to be is explored in the new limited TV series Julia on HBO Max.
For those of you who aren’t as obsessed with Julia Child and her writing about cooking. The back story is that Julia and Paul Child had a fantastic life working for the US embassy in Paris, where Julia decided to figure out what interested her in life. She tried hat making and and learning French, but they didn’t occupy her time. So, she enrolled in a cordon blu cooking class and the rest is history, so they say.
But where the series starts is Julia (Sarah Lancashire) and Paul Child (David Hyde Pierce) have returned to the US, where Paul has been put on early retirement. Paul not knowing to do with his time has started to pursue a hobby painting.
Julia having recently gained success with her published cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, is invited on a local TV show to talk about her published work. To the studio executives surprise, Julia pulls out a fry pan and cooks an omelette on the show to the delight of the presenter, who gobbles it up.
Cooking the omelette on live TV plants the seed for what will become a very successful television series. The popularity of the series continued for decades and helped increase the celebrity of Julia Child and helped her become a household name across the US.
Created by Daniel Goldfarb, Julia, is a foodies delight. This series is everything you want it to be and more. Each episode is captivating as it goes into the backstory of each dish but also explains the difficulty Julia Child experienced trying to get her series made and the misogyny that was continually directed at her by the male dominated industry that felt that cooking was only for female viewers and that Julia wasn’t the right “type” for television.
Sarah Lancashire as Julia Child is perfection. I know I have said it before, but she is utterly captivating in this portrayal and has captured the voice and unique mannerisms of Julia Child as she was famously known.
If you are a foodie, you will relish in this series. If you someone who loves a good period drama you will devour this series. If you are someone who loves the food history of Julia Child this will satiate you.
Julia on HBO is a series that is captivating, fascinating and a beautifully made drama about a strong, curious woman who was obsessed with good food.
Julia is currently available on HBO Max and a new episode is available every Thursday.
