David Hyde Pierce has already starred as one-half of a dynamite sibling pairing as Niles Crane in the original Frasier. Now, on the second season of Max’s Julia, he takes on another brotherly mantle with a tried and tested TV staple: playing his original character’s identical twin.
The bar for appearing on screen with yourself is impossibly high after Tatiana Maslany shared scenes with multiple versions of herself in the hit sci-fi series Orphan Black—deservedly winning an Emmy for her efforts in 2016. However, Pierce more than rises to the occasion, whether during a spirited piano duet or having a noticeably differing on-screen rapport with Sarah Lancashire’s Julia Child.
After spending a summer sojourn tasting culinary delights in France, Paul and Julia find themselves thrust back into the limelight upon their return to Cambridge, thanks to the success of Julia’s cooking series, The French Chef. An interview with Life magazine coincides with twin brother Charlie’s surprise visit, which adds to Julia’s agitated mood.