Warning: spoilers are ahead for Episode 3 of Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+, called "Living Dead Things."
Lessons in Chemistry brought Brie Larson to the small screen to play chemist/chef Elizabeth Zott, and the show wasted no time in serving up a huge tragedy for the character (and Apple TV+ subscribers). Just when she opened up, found love, and was building a life with Calvin, he was shockingly killed after being struck by a bus. Six-Thirty was the only up-close-and-personal witness to Calvin's death, and it was from the dog's perspective that "Living Dead Things" was narrated. Showrunner Lee Eisenberg spoke with CinemaBlend about why the show went that route with the aftermath of the tragedy.
Six-Thirty was voiced by none other than The Office alum B.J. Novak, and the episode gave the dog some backstory while also showing how he mourned his running buddy and wanted to help Elizabeth with her own grief. The abrupt shift into a story being told from the point-of-view of a dog isn't something that happens on every show; when I spoke with Lee Eisenberg and director Sarah Adina Smith for Apple TV+'s Lessons in Chemistry press junket, the showrunner explained the approach to Calvin's death via Six-Thirty:
In the book, so much of the book is told from the dog's perspective. That was something as we started diving into the series, you know, how are we going to honor that? And there was a discussion to not honor it and just to kind of tell a little bit more of a conventional story. It really felt important to me to try to figure that out. The logistics of working with an animal – we won't bore you with, but it's much more complicated than working with humans. And the idea of doing that for any stretch longer than one episode just would have crumbled the production.
The show is based on the novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus, although the Lessons in Chemistry cast is already portraying slightly different versions of characters compared to how they were written in the book. Harriet's story in particular is going in some directions that weren't explored on the page.
According to Lee Eisenberg, who also shared why the Brie Larson series is better with weekly episodes, the Lessons in Chemistry team considered diverging from Garmus' novel and cutting Six-Thirty's narration, but they ultimately found the way to do it for Episode 3. The showrunner continued:
We wouldn't have been able to accomplish all the other things that we wanted to, but it felt like doing the grief episode from the perspective of the dog – and again, you're fully with Elizabeth, you're fully with Harriet, there are scenes without the dog in the episode – but grief strikes everyone differently. And that was something that I really wanted to explore. We spent so much time in the writers room talking about our own grief and loss, how we experience it, and how the dog Six-Thirty who in some ways feels guilt. He feels responsibility for it. Not only that, but he also feels a responsibility to being there for Elizabeth. All of those dynamics about how we all cope and deal with grief was something that was really intriguing and really cathartic as writers and creators to discuss and then ultimately put to the screen.
Viewers shouldn't expect the remaining five episodes to be narrated by B.J. Novak as Six-Thirty, but the dog was chosen as the right way to tell Lessons in Chemistry's story about loss, grief, and guilt. "Living Dead Things" also set Elizabeth up to have to build a new life for herself. We're not yet quite at the point of seeing her get from her grief to the host of Supper at Six that was previewed in the very first episode. The show's food consultant does have some tips for fans who want to cook like Elizabeth Zott already, though!
See what's next for Elizabeth (and Six-Thirty) as new episodes of Lessons in Chemistry continue to release on Fridays on Apple TV+. With installments releasing weekly rather than the full season all at once, the story will continue through to late November. You can find some additional viewing options on our 2023 TV schedule.
