Like many others, reading Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid for the first time was a religious experience for me. Loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac, Reid submerges readers in these rockers’ worlds through multiple POVs. Showcasing the many complex feelings of love, Reid packs a punch into readers’ hearts. However, sometimes books can accomplish things that no TV adaptation ever could, a problem that the Daisy Jones & Six TV adaptation ran into. Good but not legendary, the Daisy Jones & the Six show serves its purpose with visuals but struggles to keep up with the legacy of its inspiration.

The TV show follows the plot of the original novel very similarly. It’s the 1970s. Southern California. Drugs and alcohol. Love. Rock n roll. Pennsylvania brothers Billy and Graham Dunne start their own band The Six with a few friends, at first only playing in garages and weddings. Billy falls in love and marries beautiful photographer Camilla. Finally catching their big break, Billy and the band move to L.A. to pursue their dreams, which is cut short when Billy falls into a pattern of alcoholism and misses the birth of his daughter. 

While this was all happening, we watched a young, beautiful and talented Daisy Jones grow up fast. Hooked on alcohol and drugs at a young age, Daisy flourishes as a singer, but her ideas are often stolen by her short-lived lovers. Newly sober Billy vows to make changes when Camilla forgives him. Daisy is invited to the studio to record a song with The Six. Immediately, there’s chemistry between Daisy Jones and The Six. Though Billy initially despises Daisy, the two start to work together and create electrifying music. Sparks fly, and they may start to regret each other…

The show features some huge stars such as British indie pop singer Suki Waterhouse and Hunger Games’ Sam Claflin. However, the biggest star is Riley Keough, aka granddaughter of the Elvis. Much like her maternal grandfather, Keough is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to singing. Her vocals are absolutely insane and mesh so seamlessly with costar Claflin (also, who knew Sam Claflin could sing??). Along with being a superstar vocalist, Keough brought the role of Daisy to life perfectly. Not only is Keough the spitting image of what I pictured Daisy to like, but she also captures Daisy’s free spirit in such a captivating way. 

Keough and Claflin had powerful chemistry, but their relationship wasn’t nearly as compelling as the one between Daisy’s best friend Simone, and her girlfriend, Bernie. The subplot of Simone and Bernie’s relationship was well executed, as we watched Simone get over her fear of other people judging her. Also worth mentioning is the relationship between piano player Karen and Dunne brother Graham. This is the relationship that viewers want to come back to and see the development of. It’s so on and off, no one knows where it will go. We just want them to stay together. 

The book is cleverly conducted through interviews to portray different POVs 40 years later. The show did not stray from this (though it was adapted to be 20 years later), however, I cannot say it felt nearly as clever. Again, it had one too many corny one-liners. I will also say they did the majority of the cast was done so dirty with their older-version wigs. 

Being about a famous rock band, of course, there’s going to be a soundtrack. The soundtrack is alright. The vocals are incredible and definitely bring the 70s vibe. However, it’s clear that the majority of the talent went toward songs Look At Us Now (Honeycomb) and Regret Me, two main points of the show. Lyrically, the soundtrack remained true to Reid’s original lyrics, which were executed appropriately. The whole rest of the soundtrack just felt a little cheesy, at least production-wise. There were too many filler songs. 

While the show is a great visual for the book, it’s simply not as good. The book had so much mystery to it. It felt like a true confessional, more honest. Obviously, the show was left at odds. There was no way anything could top the book, so it wasn’t even fair in the first place. 

Daisy Jones & The Six is a good show, but an even better book. While the show brings these characters to life, I would always recommend reading the book first.