Lessons In Chemistry’s Harriet Is Different From Book As Producers Address Expanding Racial Scope

Lessons in Chemistry producer and showrunner Lee Eisenberg explains the changes made to Harriet. The eight-episode drama is based on the bestselling novel by Bonnie Garmus, an author and science editor. The story is set in the early 1950s, following Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott. Elizabeth’s dream of being a scientist is put on hold in a patriarchal society, but when she finds herself fired from her lab, she accepts a job as the host of a television cooking show. But compared to the book, the adaptation also puts a bigger spotlight on Harriet Sloane (How to Get Away with Murder‘s Aja Naomi King).