JULIA, A Comedic Look at Julia Child, Debuts March 31 on HBO Max

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Meryl Streep’s a tough act to follow no matter what the role, but Sarah Lancashire looks like she’s got things well in hand in order to take over the reins from Streep’s turn in 2009’s Julie & Julia to play legendary TV personality, author and chef Julia Child in the upcoming HBO Max series called (What else?) Julia.

Child was always too large a personality, important a cultural figure, and interesting a person to just let Meryl have the final word on her, especially in a story where she wasn’t the central character. What interests us about this series is that it’s being promoted as a comedy.

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That doesn’t bother us. Child was always in on the joke of her own persona and probably would have found a comedic take on her life to be exactly the way to go. Lancashire looks the part and the art direction is superbly on point. Of course it’ll all rest on how well she can do The Voice, which is essential to any portrayal of Julia Child. No one ever sounded like her and no one ever will again. That and her domineering presence on screen is what made her a star. We can practically guarantee we’re going to watch this, but we’ll have to reserve judgment until we see a trailer and hear how Lancashire does.

The Max Original comedy series JULIA debuts with three episodes THURSDAY, MARCH 31 on HBO Max, followed by one episode weekly through May 5.

JULIA is inspired by Julia Child’s extraordinary life and her long-running television series, “The French Chef,” which pioneered the modern cooking show. Through Julia’s life and her singular joie de vivre, 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.

Cast: The eight-episode series stars Sarah Lancashire (“Happy Valley”), David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”), Bebe Neuwirth (“Madam Secretary”), Brittany Bradford (Broadway’s “Bernhardt/Hamlet”), Fran Kranz (“Homecoming”) and Fiona Glascott (“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”).

Credits: JULIA is produced by Lionsgate and 3 Arts Entertainment. Chris Keyser (“The Society”) serves as showrunner, as well as executive producer alongside creator Daniel Goldfarb. Erwin Stoff (“Edge of Tomorrow”) of 3 Arts Entertainment, Kimberly Carver and Charles McDougall also executive produce. Todd Schulkin is a Consulting Producer on behalf of The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts.

[Photo Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max]

• Bebe Neuwirth
• Brittany Bradford
• David Hyde Pierce
• Fiona Glascott
• Fran Kranz
• HBO Max
• Julia
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• Sarah Lancashire
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