Apple TV+ Series 'Dickinson' Reimagines Emily Dickinson as a Feminist Icon

Alena Smith's series 'Dickinson' on Apple TV+ offers a black comedy, coming-of-age reinterpretation of poet Emily Dickinson, blending historical elements with contemporary culture. The show stars Hailee Steinfeld (born 1996) as a modernized Dickinson who speaks in phrases like "What's up, girls" and attends parties with twerking and trap music. Death is personified by rapper Wiz Khalifa as a dandy in a black carriage. Across ten episodes, the series centers on Dickinson's fierce desire to become a poet within a restrictive 19th-century society where women were relegated to domestic roles. Her father Edward (Toby Huss) wrote a book prescribing her destiny as a homemaker, while her mother initially seeks a suitable husband for her. Emily rejects marriage, viewing it as a transfer of ownership from father to husband. Her first love is childhood friend Sue Gilbert (Ella Hunt), who marries her brother Austin (Adrian Enscoe). The series contrasts Dickinson's path with that of a young writer who publishes popular novels under a male pseudonym. Dickinson's dialogue with Death emphasizes that notoriety and immortality differ, and she will achieve immortality by breaking rules, not following them. The show draws parallels to the Me Too movement and is compared to HBO's 'Euphoria' for its irreverent tone. The series premiered on Apple TV+ in 2019.