Review: Sincere and Authentic 'Julia' Reminds Us to Taste Life

The life and times of gourmet cooking idol Julia Carolyn Child has been something of a curiosity and of significant interest to many beyond just the joy she brought into homes across the country with her cooking show on public television. Television was still in its infancy when Julia Child (who didn't even own a television herself) became determined to conquer the platform. She had established herself as a best-selling author with cookbooks that fascinated American housewives with her exploration of French cuisine; now she was broadening her palette to bring her love and expertise of the fine art of cooking to everyone.

There have been books and movies about her extraordinary life. The wife of a diplomat, when the couple traveled to Europe, Julia immersed herself in the culinary arts and her passion for the French style of cooking was born. The HBO Max series "Julia," starring Sarah Lancashire, picks up when she and her husband Paul (David Hyde Pierce) return to the states and settle in Boston. Paul enters into retirement pursuing his own gifts as a visual artist, while Julia concerns herself with the promotion of her best-selling book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Landing a booking on a local public television show changes her life when she realizes her gift for communicating and telegraphy her love of food preparation through the lens of reaching an audience through television. Julia is relentless in convincing producer Russ (Fran Kranz) and her one ally inside the studio, Alice (Brittany Bradford), that she's onto something that will revolutionize how Americans experience the art of cooking.

Her joie de vivre is at the center of the narrative, along with an all-star cast including Sarah Lancashire ("Last Tango in Halifax"), David Hyde Pierce ("Fraiser"), Bebe Neuwirth, and Brittany Bradford, all of whom have their own mountains to climb. As history tells it, Julia Child became an overnight sensation as her public television series "The French Chef" became an unprecedented success. The show was one of the first of its kind to become syndicated.

"Julia" follows the delicate dance that its headliner must face as she becomes one of the most famous people in the country and her talent becomes an indelible part of popular culture at a time when women were expected to do little more than cook and clean. Julia expresses it best, saying that what she is offering is not a regular cooking how-to experience, but a "travel show" where she is inviting the viewer to come along on a journey to experience something bigger.

Television in this modern age has become all too cynical, so it's a pleasure when something rises to the top that is sincere and authentic. "Julia" explores what our potential can achieve if only we believe in ourselves. In the 1960s, the middle-aged Julia Child believed so strongly in her own ability that she refused to allow society to dictate to her and those around her who or what they should be. "Julia" teaches its audience how to taste life.

"Julia" premieres on HBO Max on March 31.