Julia Child drama greenlit by HBO

Julia Child in 1978 (photo: Lynn Gilbert via CC)

US streamer HBO Max has given a series order to a drama based on the life of renowned chef Julia Child, with Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire playing the lead.

Produced by Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment, Julia has been partly inspired by Child’s long-running television series The French Chef.

The eight-part series will be directed by Charles McDougall (House of Cards) and written by Daniel Goldfarb (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel). The series commission comes after a pilot was filmed late last year.

Showrunner Chris Keyser (The Society) will executive produce along with Erwin Stoff (Edge of Tomorrow), McDougall, Daniel Goldfarb and Kimberly Carver.

Todd Schulkin is a consulting producer on behalf of The Julia Child Foundation for gastronomy and the culinary arts. Child died in 2004.

The series, which is scheduled to continue production in late spring in Boston, where the pilot was filmed, also stars David Hyde Pierce (Frasier), who plays Child’s husband, and Isabella Rossellini (Silent Retreat).

Sarah Aubrey, head of original content at HBO Max, said: “We are so happy to help bring the incomparable Julia Child back to the small screen, when we need her more than ever. This show’s look into her life, marriage and trailblazing career as she transformed the way we talk about food is an absolute delight.”