The HBO Max Julia avatar is definitely naughtier than Ephron’s: she gleefully drops F bombs, not only as swear words but also to actually talk about sex with her husband and friends. And there is more: in Dishing with Julia Child on PBS, current celebrity chefs discuss Julia’s legacy, while in The Julia Child Challenge on the Food Network is it home cooks (and Julia’s fan) that compete to prepare the best versions of her dishes and to propose personal creations inspired by her. Who plays the best Julia, Meryl Streep or Sarah Lancashire? Who embodies Paul Child better, Stanley Tucci or David Hyde Pierce? Which version is more realistic? Who stuck more closely to the facts? Fewer would make reference to the recent 2021 documentary by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, also carrying the title Julia. Some viewers may even engage in a game of comparison between the current HBO Max production and Nora Ephron’s 2009 film Julie and Julia.
The show could also appeal to those interested in understanding the transformations in how Americans deal with, think, and talk about food. It feels like the writers had in mind mainstream, recently converted foodies as their target audience. This is entertainment TV, and it’s quite likely that viewers interested in food and cooking may find the story appealing and the character charming, in all her quirks.
It is hard to find anything particularly new or exciting in Julia, the HBO Max series about the beginning of Julia Child’s ascent as a media celebrity. Five episodes into the new HBO Max series about the beginning of Julia Child’s ascent as a media celebrity and the patron goddess of all things food TV, we are left wondering if we really need yet another show about her.