Dickinson
What It Feels Like
Emily Dickinson is a young woman in 1850s Amherst who doesn't fit. She writes poems, loves her friend Sue, and rebels against her father's expectations. Alena Smith created a period comedy with modern sensibility: anachronistic music, contemporary language, 19th-century aesthetics. Hailee Steinfeld is Emily—feeling everything, writing everything, becoming the poet.
The 7-Dimension Analysis
Characters & Acting (9/10)
Hailee Steinfeld captures Emily's intensity and wit. Ella Hunt as Sue, Adrian Enscoe as Austin, Anna Baryshnikov as Lavinia. The ensemble creates the Dickinson household with modern spirit in period dress. The performances embrace the anachronism.
World Building (8/10)
1850s Amherst: the Dickinson house, the social expectations, the restricted world Emily pushes against. The anachronisms (modern music, contemporary language) create a world that's both period and present. The aesthetic is distinctive.
Cinematography (8/10)
Apple TV+ production: 19th-century New England photographed with modern sensibility. The style mixes period and contemporary—the costumes are accurate, the attitudes are now. Distinctive visual language.
Visual Spectacle (3/10)
The spectacle is aesthetic: the dresses, the dances, the beehives. This is chamber comedy—small moments rendered with style. The "spectacle" is watching Steinfeld embody Emily.
Conceptual Density (8/10)
Feminism, artistic ambition, queer identity, the restricted life of 19th-century women, the choice between fame and authenticity. The show explores Emily's world through modern eyes without losing the period.
Narrative Drive (7/10)
Emily wants to be a poet. She wants Sue. She wants freedom. The drive is emotional—each episode is a moment in her becoming. The structure is episodic with serialized development.
Narrative Path & Resolution (8/10)
Three seasons with planned ending. Emily becomes the recluse; her poems survive; her story completes. The finale is beautiful. Complete.
Where to Watch
US: Apple TV+
UK: Apple TV+