There is no better feeling than when an amazing book gets the media attention it deserves. Of course, there have been many hits and misses in the past when it comes to book to screen adaptations. However, I can almost assure you that the new Daisy Jones & The Six limited series will be one that sets a new standard for this type of media. The story is not only relatable due its real world tropes and issues, but it depicts characters that are almost too lifelike to simply read about on a page. There are countless reasons why you should put Daisy Jones & The Six on your watchlist, but here are a few key reasons if you need a bit more convincing:
A larger than life story
Without giving too much away, a brief explanation of the story is probably necessary. The first half of the main duo, Daisy Jones, has intense musical and artistic aspirations to be a professional songwriter. The other half, Billy Dunne, shares Daisy’s dreams as well as her determination to succeed. While both struggle with their own internal conflicts, they come together to create a piece of art that grows to be considered one of the greatest rock albums of all time. Their story, surrounded by the push and pull from the other characters in the band, creates an incredibly immersive piece of fiction that is only fit for further media depictions like a TV adaptation.
Adapted Screenplay
As mentioned, the book Daisy Jones & The Six was originally written and published by Taylor Jenkins Reid in 2019. She is known for having authored many other popular novels (especially those that frequently appear on booktok) like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which was published in 2017. She is known for her storytelling that literally feels as if the characters are talking directly to you, and as someone who has read her work, I can definitely confirm this.
With adapted screenplays, there is always the knowledge that certain changes or alterations may be made to plotlines in order to make the story more fit for a screen. Since the plot of Daisy Jones is portrayed entirely through interview format in the novel, there is no doubt that some changes will be made to the existing story. However, I believe that these revisions will only enhance the story and further develop the characters that readers have already grown to love.
A beyond perfect cast
When I saw the announcement that Daisy Jones & The Six was getting a limited series, of course I was excited. Yet, that excitement did not grow to pure obsession until I discovered the cast that would be portraying the main characters. Please believe me when I say that I have never seen a more perfect cast for an on-screen depiction of a book, possibly aside from Kiera Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (2005), but that’s a story for another article.
The main character of Billy Dunne is to be played by Sam Caflin, who you may be familiar with due to his previous portrayal of Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games series. Beside him is the story’s backbone, Daisy Jones, who will be played by Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis Presley (little fun fact for all my Elvis/Austin Butler girlies). These two alone are perfect depictions of who the reader imagines when being introduced to these characters for the first time.
Not only does each actor bring their own unique style to each character, but they also come with heavy musical backgrounds. Musical artist Suki Waterhouse has been casted to portray another main member of the band, Karen Karen (yes, that is her name). Once seeing her name on the cast list, I realized that I have been listening to her on Spotify for a while, and I highly recommend checking out her music!
Original Soundtrack
A really cool feature that is included with the Daisy Jones & The Six novel is a small booklet that has all the lyrics written by Daisy and Billy for their album, Aurora. The writers of the limited series decided to take these lyrics and develop them into an actual physical album (I’m seriously not kidding, I already bought it on vinyl). Two of the songs, “Regret Me” and “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)” have already been released on Spotify, and I’m pretty sure that both will definitely be making an appearance in my 2023 Spotify Wrapped.
The first three episodes of the Daisy Jones & The Six limited series premiere on Amazon Prime Video on March 3, 2023. If you are looking for a new show to watch with an amazing storyline and an out of this world cast, then I highly recommend tuning in.