• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Lieff Ink

TELL YOUR STORY

  • About
  • Services
    • Writing • Editing
    • PR
    • Writing Tutor
  • Words
  • Press
  • Blog
  • Clients
    • Client List
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Book
    • Accolades
    • Reviews

Daisy Jones & The Six Light Up The Screen

March 27, 2023

Three years ago, I read Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel Daisy Jones & The Six and loved it. LOVED it. That book singlehandedly got me back into reading fiction (after years of reading mostly nonfiction) and made me a Reid fan for life. Since then, I’ve also read Malibu Rising, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and Carrie Soto Is Back. Here is my review of Daisy Jones & The Six  (the book) from February 2020:

https://lauralieff.com/daisy-jones-the-six/

Earlier this month, the highly anticipated limited Amazon Prime Video series debuted and I couldn’t wait. When I read Daisy Jones I made a note in the book that said, “I want to hear these songs” and I finally was getting the opportunity to do just that. Although I usually think books are better than television or film adaptations, I had a feeling that this was going to be something special and it was – from start to finish.

Divided into ten one-hour episodes, the series starts with the humble Pittsburgh beginnings of the Dunne Brothers Band (which eventually becomes The Six) led by Billy (Sam Claflin). Simultaneously, a young Daisy (Riley Keough aka Elvis Presley’s granddaughter) escapes her neglectful parents on a nightly basis to see live music on the Sunset Strip and write her own songs. She also attends parties at famous people’s homes which is how she meets Simone, a disco queen on the rise who is played flawlessly by Nabiyah Be and could probably have her own spinoff series.

Part Almost Famous, part Behind the Music (the documentary style interviewing method is an extremely effective storytelling tool that is also used in the novel), the series brings the book’s characters to life in 1970s Los Angeles. After reading Daisy Jones, I felt like I knew the characters so getting to see them actually talking and singing was so exciting. And while every single member of the cast is excellent, it is impossible to take your eyes off Keough and Claflin– for better or worse – because it’s hard to predict if they are going to rip through the screen while ripping each other apart.

SPOILERS!

While all the episodes are good, things really get going in episode three when legendary record producer Teddy Price (played by an excellent Tom Wright) has the insight to introduce Daisy to The Six and make (fictional) music history. By episode five, Daisy becomes an official member of the band and the chemistry between Billy and Daisy simultaneously comes into clear focus and all but erupts – in both positive and negative ways.

Anyone who has read the book or anything about the show knows that the Fleetwood Mac references and inspiration are undeniable. The stories of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham making Rumours have become rock and roll mythology because when two electric and explosive personalities decide to collide and collaborate, magic happens. And that’s what takes place before our eyes with Billy and Daisy. Watching the timeline of this band go from gigging at small clubs to recording an album (Sound City!) to touring to hitting the music success stratosphere is a lot of fun – especially since it takes place so many decades before CDs, the internet, and social media. And at a time when the cover of Rolling Stone magazine was the ultimate measure of making it.

Episode seven is probably my least favorite because it deviates from the music plot and because I already knew that Daisy wasn’t going to stay in Greece forever. But I get why it was necessary as it showcases the level of heartbreak Daisy feels after what happens with Billy. Episodes eight, nine, and ten are a whirlwind depiction of the band on tour – buses turn into airplanes, groups of screaming fans multiply, and they start selling out venues with capacities of 60,000 people. Also, drugs and alcohol are prevalent and emotions run high in every sense of the word. Daisy Jones & The Six is the biggest band in the world and their fame affects everyone around them – including significant others, children, tour managers, and record producers.

Watching this group of people unravel is heartbreaking – especially since Billy is caught between two women he loves, keeping his addictions at bay, his love of music, and having a daughter at home. Meanwhile, Daisy is in love with someone who loves her but can’t be with her. It’s heart-wrenching but it also makes for incredible television because it’s so raw and real. That passion, success, and temptation is a lot for one person to carry and eventually Billy collapses under the weight of it all – but thankfully not in a cliché rock and roll tragedy way.

On a more positive note, there is nothing like nailing the energy and electricity of live music and this series does just that. I can’t get “Look At Us Now” and “Regret Me” out of my head. Those songs are so catchy and so full of angst and emotion that I’m still asking myself how it’s possible that Daisy Jones & The Six is not a real band. But I felt the same about Jackson Maine and Ally in A Star Is Born, Stillwater in Almost Famous, and Bad Blake in Crazy Heart – and still do.

I’ve said before that stories about and conversations between intrinsically flawed people are ultimately what the television-viewing and movie-going experience is all about, and this series is a gripping example of that. Daisy Jones & The Six serves as an important reminder that music truly is the thread that binds everyone –  in the band, the series, the audience, and the world.

Laura

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Blog Archive

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010

Footer

Laura Lieff was named Colorado Mountain College’s 2017-2018 Part Time Staff Member of the Year for her work as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.
Laura Lieff was named Colorado Mountain College’s 2017-2018 Part Time Staff Member of the Year for her work as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.

Work With Me

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
lieff-ink-logo_updated-2
  • About
  • Services
  • Words
  • Blog
  • Client List
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 · PO Box 1228 Edwards CO 81632 · info@lauralieff.com