David Hyde Pierce and Sarah Lancashire star in “Julia.” Pierce portrays Peter Child, husband and chief cheerleader of cooking legend Julia Child.David Hyde Pierce returns to TV this spring playing a familiar part — an erudite man who adores fine food, wine and art. But this has nothing to do with “Frasier.”
Viewers will see Peter Child evolve from a snob who refuses to allow a television set in their home to a man eager to hold cue cards for his wife on the kitchen set of “The French Chef.” “That combination of Julia’s spontaneity and his meticulousness really was part of what made them such a great pair,” said Pierce.
Goldfarb, a co-producer of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” said the marriage was unusual in that it evolved, starting in the old-fashioned 1950s and growing into a modern partnership that was playful and lusty. The project was filmed during the pandemic, making research challenging. Paul Child died in 1994 and Pierce was unable to access the couples’ cache of letters and writings at Harvard University because of the shutdown. But librarians read excerpts to him over the phone, and Pierce consulted Paul’s twin brother’s memoir.