Three weeks ago, the new Amazon Prime Video miniseries Daisy Jones and the Six aired its first three episodes, and it is already garnering nationwide acclaim. The show is based on the book of the same title by author Taylor Jenkins Reid, who has been praised worldwide, as well as critiqued, for her portrayals of culture with her Latinx and POC characters. The book follows a fictional band in the 70s who had an abrupt split, and decades later reunite for an interview to finally disclose what lead to the infamous breakup. The show has done an incredible job of keeping the heart of the book that made so many people fall in love with it while adding new depth to the characters.
The first and most obvious difference is the absence of the character Pete Loving, who was the bassist of the band and brother of lead guitarist Eddie. In the books, Pete is a background character — the most out of the whole band, simply adding exposition to events. Therefore, it makes sense that they would get rid of his character, as they have the characterization of the other members of the band: Daisy Jones, the band’s manager Teddy, and lead vocalist Billy Dunne’s wife and band photographer Camilla. However, an important aspect to Pete is that part of the conflict seen with Eddie feeling disconnected from the band comes from Pete deciding to leave as Eddie battles with Billy getting the spotlight and deciding everything for the band. This left a feeling for me that there is a part of Eddie’s story missing without his brother Pete that I would have liked to see. However, the star-studded cast of Camilla Marrone, Sam Claflin, Riley Keough and so many more still knock it out of the park.
Another huge difference was how Daisy Jones’ parents were portrayed in the show. In the book, Daisy Jones’ parents are neglectful, too busy living their lives to properly care for their daughter. This neglect is what leads to her intense passion for music where she can feel seen and heard in lyrics and eventually with the support of fans. However, in the show, the mother is verbally abusive to Daisy Jones by telling her to shut up when she is singing as a little child and saying she believes Daisy was sent on this earth to annoy her. This results in the same outcome of music becoming a support system and escape for Daisy Jones, causing her to become a musician.
Lastly, the biggest difference between the show and the books is the physical cheating that occurs between Billy and Daisy, and Camilla and Eddie. In the book, the most interesting aspect is that despite intense chemistry between Daisy and Billy, they never even kiss. However, it is the emotional cheating that leads Daisy to believe her and Billy will end up together resulting in sadness, anger, and partially the break up of the band when he does not, feeling like Billy was stringing her along. While this emotional cheating takes places, Camilla tries to raise her and Billy’s three children essentially by herself. Eddie is simply a friend of Camilla’s who has known her since they were children and despises the situation Billy left Camilla in while focusing on Daisy. However, in the show Billy takes things a step further with Daisy and kisses her to “get her to sing a song right,” resulting in a further manipulation then even the book portrayed. Then, Camilla is tired of being neglected by Billy. Eddie, her longtime friend, is there for her so they start to hook up. I am interested to see in later episodes how this will play a bigger difference with possibly Billy and Camilla finding out about the other’s cheating and this playing a partial role in the end of the band.
Overall, I have immensely enjoyed watching the show and am waiting on the edge of my seat for the new episodes released every Friday. The show stays true to the book in the ways that matter most: the iconic characters. Everyone who was a part of the show truly cared about this project as well, with Sam Claflin, who plays Billy Dunne, and Riley Keough, who plays Daisy Jones, doing extensive vocal training. The small differences seen in the show make more sense or accomplish the same thing the original plot did in a more efficient way.