Of all of the Apple TV+ original series available at launch, Dickinson is the only one with episodes that clock in at 30 minutes or less. That ultimately works in the show’s favor as the shorter runtime aligns well with its comedic ambitions, its somewhat twee sensibilities, and its very extra, only occasionally exhausting, use of anachronisms — particularly dialogue and music — that plainly hammer home potent themes of feminism, artistry, and the idealism of youth.
It’s difficult to discern whether or not Dickinson would even work without the obvious incongruity of its dialogue, or its use of popular music to underscore the extent to which this is no mere period piece or stodgy costume drama. Both play an integral part in its design and any success it has. But at times it can seem as though these playful elements also work in opposition to the show’s intentions, forcing it to rely too heavily on a sort of hyper-stylized approach that can be too cute for its own good.
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Created and written by Alena Smith and directed by David Gordon Green, the series premiere drops the viewer into the world of a teen Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfeld), one where the young poet must endure, and speak out against, such teenage indignities as performing household chores when she’d rather be writing. More importantly, though, young Emily finds herself railing against the efforts of her mother (Jane Krakowski) to marry her off, and her father (Toby Huss) to prevent her from being a published writer and therefore sully the good Dickinson name. (The irony, of course, being that Emily is the only Dickinson history remembers.) Moreover, Emily must deal with the romantic love she feels for her best friend Sue (Ella Hunt), who is due to marry Emily’s older brother, Austin (Adrian Enscoe), after the untimely death of Sue’s family.
By and large, the series is a successful mix of “stomp the patriarchy,” dysfunctional family humor, and a familiar woe-is-me kind of teen angst. Most of the time it’s funny and uplifting, thanks in no small part to Steinfeld, who fully embodies the role of a talented, thoughtful, but also incredibly privileged teen. But Smith and Green have also surrounded their lead with a terrific supporting cast that includes the aforementioned Krakowski and Huss, but also Anna Baryshnikov as Lavinia Dickinson, the forgotten Dickinson daughter who would like nothing more than to have her sister’s suitor problem. Though not an ensemble necessarily, Dickinson has enough depth in its cast to operate as such, which takes some of the weight off of Steinfeld’s shoulders, allowing her to fully embrace the full spectrum of her character’s many attributes and foibles.
The series is so intent on disabusing viewers of its stuffy costume drama appearances that it overcorrects at times, steering into its modernist sensibilities with an almost hyperactive cleverness that can be overwhelming in its affectedness. That is apparent in nearly every scene whether the characters’ intentions are underscored by thumping bass or when lines of Dickinson’s poems are literally burned onto the screen. And it’s particularly when she interacts with her true love, Death (Wiz Khalifa), who rambles around town in a ghost-horse-drawn carriage and waxes philosophical with Emily about her many teenage troubles and more adult aspirations.
In all, Dickinson is an interesting outlier for Apple TV+, as it clearly aims to court a teen demographic that might be left uninspired by the alt-history drama of For All Mankind, the bonkers sci-fi silliness of See, or the #MeToo topicality of The Morning Show. And, given its modernist sensibilities and appearances by Khalifa and John Mulaney, in addition to the presence of future Disney+ MCU star Steinfeld, Dickinson stands a chance at being the nascent streamer’s first young adult hit.
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Dickinson premieres Friday, November 1, exclusively on Apple TV+.
