Julia

At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.

How costume design helped the actors of new HBO Max series “Julia” fit into their characters In playing Paul Child in the 8-part HBO Max series Julia, costume designer John Dunn fitted David Hyde Pierce with a piece of clothing that Pierce said automatically helped him look — and feel — the part. The show is set in the ’60s when famous chef and television personality Julia Child (played by Sarah Lancashire) started popularizing French cooking in America.

Julia opens to the raucous, back-and-forth guitar licks of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” — a decidedly unanticipated and seemingly outside-the-box choice for co-directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s genial nonfiction assaying of author and celebrity chef Julia Child, which otherwise trades largely in traditional rhythms, and unfolds in expected ways. But then again, maybe, given its lyrical evocation of “only one burning desire,” it appropriately captures the singular passion of its subject.