Children, Set The Table. Your Mother Needs Season 2 of ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ For Herself.
For fans of the Apple TV+ show Lessons in Chemistry, a run of 8 hour-long episodes was barely enough to get things cooking. Adapted from the book by Bonnie Garmus, Lessons was designed to be a miniseries that tells the full story of heroine Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson, who also co-executive produced), a chemist turned television host struggling to raise her daughter alone amid the sexism and discrimination of the 1950s.
Yet when the final episode hit the streamer on November 22, 2023, many viewers felt there was far more of the story to discover. Showrunners left some storylines open-ended, leaving the characters rife for a potential Season 2 of the popular show. While Apple TV+ hasn’t officially announced another season of Lessons in Chemistry, some of the cast and production personnel have indicated they’d be open to seeing what’s next for Zott and friends.
How did Season 1 end?
Like the novel, the Lessons in Chemistry miniseries ended with Zott stepping down from her job as host of “Supper at Six.” The character goes back to school to finally finish her PhD, a move we hope grants her more equal footing amidst her misogynistic lab cohorts. In the show, Zott also takes a job teaching an introduction to chemistry course, which makes sense since we saw how much she loves sharing her knowledge with others throughout Season 1.
In an interview with TheWrap, Larson said she loved this ending because it showed how Zott had learned more about herself through “Supper at Six,” and now she can apply her love of teaching to her future.
“She wants to get back in the lab, and part of that pathway is teaching and being there for people,” the actress explained. “I just think that that’s such a beautiful thing because she’s been able to take all these moments and things in her life and put them into what I find to be very meaningful work.”
“She loves science, and the part that she loved about ‘Supper at Six’ was being able to share her knowledge,” she continued. “And now she’s found a way to do it that’s true to herself.”
What could Season 2 add to the story?
Apart from continuing to explore Zott’s experience as a single parent, scientist, and woman in a male-dominated world, there are multiple subplots that could be fleshed out further. For starters, we would love to learn more about Mad as she grows up. Will she be a scientist like her parents, or will she become something else, perhaps an investigative journalist, thanks to her experience finding out the truth of her father’s boyhood?
Then there’s next-door neighbor Harriet Sloane, played by Aja Naomi King. In the book, Harriet was an elderly empty-nester who enters the picture when Zott is struggling with the exhaustion of motherhood. The character is dramatically changed in the show, transforming Harriet into a legal assistant, activist, military wife, and mother to young children. She’s an excellent friend to Elizabeth and an absolute force of nature. There’s so much potential to delve deeper into Harriet’s character.
There’s also the fantastic chemistry between Zott and Reverend Wakely. The characters were magnetic onscreen together.
What insiders are saying
While speaking to TODAY, showrunner Lee Eisenberg expressed gratitude for the show’s viewership and indicated they’d happily pursue more Lessons if given the chance.
“It’s so heartening to hear that people like the show enough that they want to tune back in and see where these characters go,” he said. “And if we have the right story, we’d love to explore it.”
Sounds promising, doesn’t it? As for the show’s main star and co-executive producer, when asked about a possible Season 2, Larson told TheWrap, “Oh, gosh, I mean, I have a big imagination so I can totally imagine that. I haven’t had anybody ask me that. So I don’t know.”
The bottom line …
Nobody truly knows whether there will be a second season of the popular Apple TV+ show, but if the viewership numbers are as good as they appear right now, it’s a safe bet. No, there’s no follow-up novel for showrunners to use as a guideline, but we’ve seen plenty of shows based on books that go on long after the book’s plot ends. Big Little Lies is a perfect example, as HBO Max didn’t announce a second season until after the show’s numbers hit their mark on demand.
If Lessons in Chemistry continues to show promise, there’s plenty of material left to explore, and the cast and crew seem ready to get back in the laboratory. There’s also the possibility that Larson or King are nominated for Emmy Awards, which would definitely help the producers’ case when it’s time for renewals.
We can’t wait to see where this experiment takes us! In the meantime, you can check out all eight episodes of Lessons in Chemistry right now, streaming on Apple TV+.
(featured image: Apple TV+)
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