Hello everyone,
Of the three books I have read by Taylor Jenkins Reid to date, Daisy Jones And The Six is easily my favourite, so it was both exciting and intriguing when it was announced that it would be adapted for television.
Containing 10 episodes, it premiered on Amazon Prime in early 2023, and I recently finished watching it. Along with the memorable characters from the book, the main question was how the music of its fictional band would be realised on screen.
I will share my thoughts on all of that and more in this post, but on the whole I thought the show was quite good. There were moments which I did not love, but there were plenty of redeeming features there too. So, let’s get straight to the specifics!
What I Liked:
The original songs and the band’s performances: This was one of the real ‘make or break’ elements of this series – would the band’s playlist genuinely sound like something that would have made them the biggest band in the world? And I have to say, the production team and the cast did a very commendable job with this. The songs were good, and the way they were performed – especially by the two main actors, whose vocals were surprisingly strong – was passionate and powerful. Given the inspiration for the book and some of its characters, it is perhaps no coincidence that their sound had a slight resemblance to Fleetwood Mac.
The casting of the band members: I thought the original band members were brilliantly cast. Sam Claflin really carries the show in his portrayal of Billy and captures his personality from the book extremely well. Will Harrison is very good as Graham, especially in the way he pines after Karen, while Suki Waterhouse makes Karen a tad less sympathetic than I viewed her in the book but mixes the dramatic aspects of her performance with her often deadpan delivery.
Elsewhere, Sebastian Chacon completely inhabits the role of Warren, and Jose Whitehouse plays the quiet resentment of Eddie really well too.
Riley Keough’s acting: This might be an unpopular opinion, but for a long time in this series Riley Keough did not manage to fit the image of Daisy I had in my head from the book. I was slightly unconvinced that she was the right choice for the role, but on the flipside her acting is terrific and she aces the concert scenes.
It focuses a lot on Camila: One of the things I connected most with in the book was Billy’s relationship with his wife Camila and how determined he was to stay loyal to her despite the complex feelings he held towards Daisy. The adaptation is truly exceptional in the way it explores this narrative, never losing sight of Camila and often using clever pieces of direction to show the journey she goes on as a character.
Furthermore, Camila Morrone delivers quite possibly the best acting performance of the series. She absolutely nails the part.
The opening titles: I love a good title sequence, and this one was a success mainly because of the choice of music. ‘Dancing Barefoot’ by Patti Smith just felt perfect for this particular series.
While I am at it, I must also mention the inclusion of two great songs in the closing sequences, ‘Crazy On You’ by Heart and ‘Let Your Love Flow’ by the Bellamy Brothers.
Teddy Price: He was a really cool character, and I enjoyed Tom Wright’s portrayal of him.
The location shots and production values: The was some excellent cinematography on show during the location shots, in particular the scenes set in Greece and also when Camila witnesses Billy and Daisy having a heated argument on the cliffs. All round the production values were great.
The ending: I thought the last episode was quite possibly the best one of the series. I loved the way the ending was handled.
What I Didn’t Really Like
The show made Daisy annoying: In the book Daisy is a very strong and memorable personality with a wayward streak, and you could connect with her. Unfortunately the show characterises her as stubborn and disagreeable, and she spends most of the time acting like a spoilt child. I found that it did grate on me after a while, and perhaps is the reason why I struggled to identify with Riley Keough’s performance. However, that was not her fault as it was mostly down to the script.
Simone’s sub-plot: Simone was a likeable enough character, but to be honest I found her sub-plot to be an unwelcome distraction from the main arc.
The other band members could have been developed more: The show is mostly dominated by Billy and Daisy. Of course, they are the main characters in the book too, but it would have been good to focus on the others slightly more, rather than just fleeting moments here and there.
Too many images of drug taking: Yes, it was clear that Daisy has a drug problem as her life starts to spiral and unfortunately substance abuse has been common in the music industry. However, it occasionally reached the point where lots of characters – even extras – were shown inhaling drugs.
Other Observations
The songwriting process: I would have loved to have seen more of the songwriting process between the characters, rather than Daisy just scribbling out some of Billy’s lines and suggesting better ones.
The ageing process: Some of the actors did not look much older in the present day scenes when they are being interviewed. For Suki Waterhouse for example, it looked like her hair had just been dyed a stylish grey with no other age make-up.
Daisy’s mother: The scene may have been brief, but it was slightly odd that the actor who played Daisy’s mother is only seven years older than Riley Keough.
Timothy Olyphant: He receives a credit in the opening titles for all 10 episodes, despite only appearing in half. Just another curiosity I thought I would point out!
For the most part a good adaptation. It nailed some of the things from the book and I thought the all-important music was great, although Daisy’s characterisation was a real drawback for me.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Stephen Reads Books 