Daisy Jones and the Six held its live premiere at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood on February 23rd. The event had a red carpet greeting the cast and crew of the show, as well as the entire 1000-person auditorium to bask in the glory that is this new book-to-screen adaptation. Originally written by Taylor Jenkins Reed in 2019, the novel was soon picked up by Amazon Prime for its on-screen portrayal. Through my favorite website, 1iota.com, I was able to attend the premiere and watch the first two episodes.
I waited outside across the street from Hollywood High near a Jimmy Kimmel-owned parking lot, a friend by my side and two everything bagels serving as our dinner for the night. Bagels devoured, we were soon scanned into the event and walking across the star-studded Walk of Fame into the Chinese Theater, where I caught a glimpse of Nabiyah Be, the actress playing “Simone,” giving an interview in a stunning silver outfit. We soon made our way into the lobby of the theater, decked out entirely in Daisy Jones and the Six posters on every wall. The lobby was entirely themed as if you were stepping back in time to attend the fictional band’s show, with posters displaying the album art for the Aurora album that the band creates for the majority of the book. A complimentary popcorn and candy box in tow, we sat comfortably in our seats and waited for the show to begin, the room buzzing with anticipation and excitement.
Soon, the lights dimmed and the main creative executives behind the show were a few feet in front of us to introduce the show and highlight all of the efforts put into this project. Lauren Levy, the executive producer alongside Reese Witherspoon, gave a speech that celebrated everyone that worked on the show and shared a sweet moment with show writer Scott Neustadter. Levy at one point made the cast and crew stand up and I looked around to find half of the audience standing and applauding each other. I truly got the sense that everyone that worked on the show shared a family-like sense of community.
We then got the opportunity to watch the first two episodes of the series and I swear, the walls around me disappeared as I jumped into the Daisy Jones universe, fully enthralled in the mesmerizing world that I had visualized only a few months ago when reading the book. While I will not be revealing anything about the plot of the TV show (trust me, it’s worth the wait), I can gladly report that this show lives up to the beauty and wonder of the book and the first two episodes are a solid adaptation.
I can say with certainty that the casting was fantastic and that after seeing Sam Claflin’s moody depiction of Billy Dunne, I can confidently say that no one else would have made a better fit for that role. Alongside Claflin, Tom Wright, who plays band manager Teddy Price, and Suki Waterhouse, who plays bandmate Karen, were two stand-out comedic talents with excellent timing. The TV show tweaked some minor details from the book, but they were well-appreciated and definitely made sense in the context of the visual version of the story. The first couple of episodes strike a perfect balance of fun, light-hearted moments with subtly gut-wrenching scenes that form the characters we easily grow to love. Aided by a stunning array of 70s-inspired outfits (especially on Daisy Jones herself) and great filmography choices, Daisy Jones and the Six is a force to be reckoned with.
Overall, this experience made me appreciate the devotion that the cast and crew have for this show, and their final product left me walking out of the theater with tears in my eyes. The love and dedication for their craft were evident in the Chinese Theater that night. And of course, we 1iota viewers exhaled a sigh of relief when we realized that this is not just another hastily made adaptation. Daisy Jones and the Six will be available for streaming on March 3rd, and I can guarantee I will be tuning in.