The only bad thing about HBO Max's new series Julia is that we can't eat the food.
The streaming platform released the first trailer for Julia, a show about Julia Child, on Tuesday, Mar. 1, inspiring feelings of hunger and a deep desire for a bowl of French onion soup. In addition to detailing her show The French Chef, "the series explores a pivotal time in American history—the emergence of public television as a new social institution, feminism and the women's movement, the nature of celebrity and America's cultural evolution. At its heart, the series is a portrait of a loving marriage with a shifting power dynamic."
In the preview, actress Sarah Lancashire plays the beloved chef, who tells her husband Paul Childs (David Hyde Pierce), "At this stage of my life, I want to feel relevant." So, she sets out to promote her French cookbook on her own, advocating for herself in the face of criticism and negativity.
While one public news producer decides that they need a chef with a "more camera-friendly look and a less distinctive sound," Julia insists that's not the case. "One of the advantages of looking like me," she explains, "is that you learn at a young age how not to take no for an answer."
When she finally finds herself on the set of The French Chef, Julia begins to doubt herself. But it's her husband Paul who reminds her, "If every critic would silence every artist, how dull would the world be then?"
Indeed, the world would be very dull if Julia had decided to quit her cooking show. The so-called French chef has taught many people how to cook their own meals with her TV show and cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
One such student was Julie Powell, who blogged her way through Julia's cookbook in 2002. Her writing went on to inspire the Nora Ephron film Julia and Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.
Now, it's Sarah Lancashire's turn to portray the chef after starring in a number of dark procedurals, like Netflix's Happy Valley and Hulu's The Accident.
The series debuts on HBO Max with three episodes Thursday, Mar. 31, followed by one new episode each week through May 5.