Emmys spotlight: Aja Naomi King delivers explosive performance in ‘Lessons in Chemistry’
“Lessons in Chemistry” is a supreme vehicle for the talents of Brie Larson but this Oscar winner isn’t the only one to shine. Indeed this Apple TV+ hit show is also a showcase for “How to Get Away With Murder” player Aja Naomi King.
The limited series is adapted from Bonnie Garmus‘ bestseller of the same name. The story follows Larson as Elizabeth Zott, a lab technician who gets fired but ends up hosting a cooking show in the 1960s. She uses her newfound position of influence to educate women about scientific topics. King co-stars as Harriet Sloane, a housewife who befriends Elizabeth.
Harriet’s part is one of the biggest changes in the adaptation — her presence and agency have been increased and she is given much more to do. As such, Harriet becomes a meaty character that King takes full advantage of, bringing her to life on the screen in a way that actually transcends the character found in the pages of the book. Critics agree, too.
Lucy Mangan (The Guardian) explained: “The advent of Harriet redux is even better news. Mesmerizingly played by Aja Naomi King, who has charisma to burn, she is now – as well as the wife and mother who is able to dispel maternal myths for Elizabeth, when she is in danger of drowning in the demands of new motherhood – a community activist and one-time law student who has been as stymied in her goal as Elizabeth, this time by the prejudice against her race as well as sex.”
Emma Fraser (IGN) opined: “Aja Naomi King plays Harriet, and without going too far into spoiler territory (beyond what’s in the trailer), she takes on a significant role in Elizabeth’s life. But she’s also given hopes and dreams outside of Elizabeth’s battles. What could have been a surface-level nod to the racism of the 1950s goes deeper (although it could go even further), and Harriet fights to save their neighborhood from a planned highway development. It’s a story based on real events impacting Black communities, and tests Elizabeth on whether she is as much of an ally as she says she is. King is excellent in her role and isn’t simply offering a supportive shoulder, expressing a spectrum of emotions as complex as her screen partner’s.”
Cristina Escobar (Roger Ebert) observed: “The cast does a lot of heavy lifting here, too. Larson holds the show’s center with ease, giving way to her supporting cast effortlessly. King has perhaps the most nuanced role, hitting every note, from righteous indignation to playful joy to nudging disappointment. She’s also not stuck as solely a supporting character but rather shines in her own light.”
As a result, King is now a major awards contender and we actually predict that she will snag her first-ever Emmy nomination — for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actress. She is second in our Emmy odds chart for this category, behind only Jennifer Jason Leigh (“Fargo”) and ahead of the other predicted nominees: Kali Reis (“True Detective: Night Country”), Diane Lane (“Feud: Capote vs the Swans”), Sandra Oh (“The Sympathizer”), Chloë Sevigny (“Feud: Capote vs the Swans”), and Andrea Riseborough (“The Regime”).
King reaped a nomination for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actress for “Lessons in Chemistry” at this year’s Critics Choice Awards. That’s a key bid that suggests awards groups are on her side already. She may have missed out at the Golden Globes but the Globes group together all TV genres in their supporting categories. All of the supporting actress nominees at this year’s Globes were from shows that would compete in drama (“The Crown,” “Yellowjackets,” and “Succession”) or comedy (“The Bear,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Ted Lasso”) at the Emmys. So King’s Golden Globe snub is nothing to worry about.
King’s potential Emmy nomination would also be one of three for the cast — we think Larson and supporting actor Lewis Pullman will also be nominated. Voters often like to group together actors and reward a show with multiple nominations. In fact, it’s more common that acting slots will be taken up by the same group of shows rather than actors becoming the only nominees for their show.
“Welcome to Chippendales,” “Beef,” and “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” are just three shows that garnered multiple acting nominations — Kumail Nanjiani, Murray Bartlett, Annaleigh Ashford, and Juliette Lewis for “Chippendales;” Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, and Mario Bello for “Beef;” and Evan Peters, Richard Jenkins, and Niecy Nash-Betts for “Dahmer.”
What all three shows have in common, however, is that they are led by a strong performance from a recognizable name (Nanjiani/Yeun and Wong/Peters) and then have two or three shiny supporting players grouped around them. Here, Larson is the recognizable name delivering a powerhouse performance while King and Pullman are the two turning in key, scene-stealing supporting roles. It’s a pattern that works time and time again and “Lessons in Chemistry” and King could be the latest beneficiaries.
And if that wasn’t enough, period stories tend to do well in the limited series categories, with supporting actress nominees such as Ashford and Lewis (“Chippendales”), Nash-Betts (“Dahmer”), Moses Ingram (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Holland Taylor (“Hollywood”), and “Mrs. America” trio Uzo Aduba, Margo Martindale, and Tracey Ullman all earning reaping bids for period shows.
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