Streaming Television Review: "Daisy Jones & The Six"

Based on a novel of the same name, Daisy Jones & The Six follows a fictional band. Told in documentary-style filmmaking, the 10-episode miniseries is intercut with “talking head” interviews from the characters.  The series follows each band member’s battle with stardom in the wild 1970s of music. Such a premise promises cinematic rewards for fans of music and celebrity culture. Non-music lovers still have plenty to latch onto in this Amazon television series. Daisy Jones & The Six’s success can be attributed to two key factors.

The show’s central performances are captivating from start to finish. Riley Keough as the titular Daisy Jones is an almost hypnotic on-screen presence. Keough seamlessly balances Daisy's musical talents with an undercurrent of crippling anxiety.  She is a character who can be unlikable at times, but it stems from a place of her own insecurities. Watching her fame rise is quite nerve-racking because you will be worried about her falling apart.  It is a mesmerizing performance that works well with actor Sam Claflin. 

Claflin and Keough’s characters are essentially cut from the same emotional cloth. Both are damaged goods, but their damage comes in different forms. Claflin as rockstar Billy Dunne runs the risk of being overly cliched. This character’s “rise and fall” story is definitely familiar and sometimes unnecessarily melodramatic. Dunne’s best character moments involve scenes he has with his wife Camila (Camila Morrone). There is a needed humanity in these scenes that could make you look past the character's familiar shortcomings. It is the supporting characters in Daisy Jones that are not given the same depth.

Supporting characters' subplots do not have the same emotional depths as their leads. Every supporting character in the band fits a cliched archetype. From the star-crossed lover members to simply jealous members, and party fanatics, these characters are not given emotional range. It is none of the actor's fault, but the material they are given is simply not as interesting. There are glimmers of more emotional depths in the second half of the series. That depth is best included with characters like Simone Jackson (Nabiyah Be) as a rising black musician. Her character arc is so interesting, that it rivals the story of Daisy Jones. The problem is that Jackson’s story is delivered so late in the series that audiences do not have the proper time to become invested. There are great emotional moments with characters like Jackson, but they are simply delivered too late. 

It is the final episodes of Daisy Jones & The Six that reach an incredibly satisfying and emotional payoff.  Like any classic rock n’ roll story, the characters are going to have an emotional low point. The low point of Daisy Jones is rather cliched in how it presents itself on-screen. How the characters recover from that point creates a final episode that is both emotional and cathartic. Its catharsis makes the earlier cliched moments serve an important purpose in these characters' journeys.

Daisy Jones & The Six has some undeniable shortcomings within its narrative. Certain stories are not given the same depth as others. The lack of depth makes it hard to root for most characters until later in the series. Thankfully the lead performances of Sam Claflin and Riley Keough are spellbinding. Both actors fully commit to these roles which made me forgive the cliches. Two great performances and an electrifying batch of songs make those issues easy to forgive.  Far from perfect, Daisy Jones still manages to be worth audience members' time on Prime Video.