On March 3, Amazon Prime Video dropped three episodes of “Daisy Jones and The Six,” a limited series based on a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel of the same name. “Daisy Jones and The Six” largely takes place in the late 70s, detailing the Los Angeles music scene, along with the rise and fall of the titular rock band.
The show takes a mockumentary style approach, mimicking Reid’s novel, which takes place entirely through interviews of band members and related figures; interspersed between flashbacks are interview scenes with former bandmates several years down the line.
“Daisy Jones and The Six” has a star-studded cast, featuring Riley Keough as rising singer Daisy Jones, Sam Claflin as the lead vocalist of “The Six” Billy Dunne, Camila Morrone as photographer Camila Dunne and Suki Waterhouse as keyboardist Karen Sirko. Those first three characters truly shine in the series; they’re given ample screen time and a potential love triangle to add to the drama.
Camila is particularly endearing, standing out for her courage and resilience; she is more than rising star Billy’s lover, she clearly holds her own. Daisy is also a compelling character, her childhood flashback scenes giving viewers a stronger sense of who she is and what she’s been through. Billy is a bit of a mixed bag, battling with the image of his distant father and the idea of having to work with Daisy to make it in the industry. As seen in the third episode, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” the voices of Daisy and Billy work incredibly well together, hinting at upcoming tension and underlying chemistry.
However, the rest of the band, along with Daisy’s friend Simone, do not seem to be of much importance, based on the three episodes currently released. At first, it was difficult to tell some of the band members apart, both due to the lack of focus on them and the present-day interview scenes in which their appearances completely changed.
One unique feature of “Daisy Jones & The Six” is the release of the fictional band’s debut album by Atlantic Records. The album, “Aurora,” has leading vocals from Riley Keough and Sam Claflin, and was composed by Blake Mills in collaboration with musicians including Phoebe Bridgers. While I haven’t listened to the album in its entirety, the songs featured in the released episodes are surprisingly good, albeit more mellow than expected for the 70s rock-and-roll scene.
As a whole, “Daisy Jones & The Six” is a pleasant watch. It does a fantastic job of transporting viewers to the late 60s and 70s through scenes of summer nights in dimly-lit production booths, tightly-packed kitchenettes and rooms lined in wood paneling or floral wallpaper. Production even shut down Sunset Strip for a week, to set the scene at venues like the Troubadour.
Some characters seem to be underdeveloped at the moment, but hopefully they’ll see growth and extra screen time as the show continues.
Prime Video will release two episodes of “Daisy Jones & The Six” every Friday, concluding on March 24.
Rating: 4/5