A show that captivated millions worldwide last year in such an authentic way that most thought the band was real. Daisy Jones and the Six, a book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, tells the story of a rock band trying to make it in the industry while dealing with rumours, love and addiction.
The book itself is incredible, and I believe all readers can agree that Jenkins found a unique way to tell this story through dialogue. But today, we won’t do our typical book review. Instead, we will make a comparison between Daisy Jones and The Six book vs show.
A Comparison: Daisy Jones and The Six Book vs Show
I’m happy to say that, for the most part, the show captures the book’s sentiment. The music industry, the composition, and band dynamics are all there, with some differences. I know most of you want to know what changes between Daisy and Billy compared to the book, and we will also get to that later. Now let´s look at the main differences between Daisy Jones and The Six book vs show.
1. The documentary and time-span
In the original story, Julia Dunne is a writer who has compiled all the interviews into a book. On the TV show, the format changes to a documentary, which is a slight difference but one that doesn’t alter the course of the story. Also, in the TV show, the documentary takes place 20 years after the band breaks up, while the book does a recollection 40 years later.
2. Where is Pete Loving?
For all those who haven’t read the book, Pete Loving is the bassist and Eddie’s brother. Why was he not featured in the series? The creator explained that if they had cast Pete, the actor would have wanted more out of his character’s development, so they decided to scratch it.
I agree with this approach since Pete doesn’t play a main role in any plot line throughout the book. He is calmer, and compared to the other characters, his character development is quite boring.
But without Pete, the Six actually become five. However, in the series, it was implied that the sixth band member was Camila; hence, the name still worked.
3. Billy and Camila: the meet-cute
We got the classic meet-cute at the laundromat for Billy and Camila. But did it happen? The answer is no. Camila and Billy meet at the wedding, where Billy finds his dad again. For some context, Camila was a cocktail waitress back then and had no idea who Billy was prior to this encounter.
4. The Six Debut Album and Tour
Good news: The Six did have a debut album and tour, and the show also includes all the messy bits of the book. From Billy’s first time cheating to the time Camila catches him with a groupie and up until Teddy gets him into rehab in 1974.
5. Daisy’s Career and First Recordings
The show approaches this part of Daisy’s life relatively fast. She matures, meets Simone and Teddy, and starts recording for The Six. Now, this is quite different in the book. By 1972, Daisy was the It girl of The Strip. Everyone knew her, and everyone wanted to be her manager. Plus, she already had modelling jobs in magazines. She was also a musician and had an album out when she started recording with The Six.
6. Daisy playing Honeycomb with The Six in Hawai
Even though this is one of my favourite scenes in the series, it unfortunately never happens in the book. Instead, Daisy performs Honeycomb with the band at a place on the Strip called the Whiskey. After this presentation, Daisy was the opening act for the Numbers World Tour of The Six.
7. Simone’s Career
Simone’s career was greatly downplayed in the series because she was not only famous in New York with her new proto-disco genre. Simone had a Europe Tour, and her songs topped the charts in France and Germany.
8. The origin of Daisy Jones and The Six
In the show, Camila gets involved and almost pushes Billy to let Daisy join the band. However, in the book, this never happens. A Rolling Stones reporter suggests Daisy is already an unofficial member of the band, and during a flight, the Six decides to let Daisy join.
9. The relationship between Daisy and Billy
I hate to disappoint all the fans, but in the book, the kiss before recording More Fun To Miss never happened. Billy is never unfaithful to Camila, even when he starts having feelings for Daisy.
I didn’t like one thing about the series, and it’s how it changed Billy’s character. When he was very committed to his family, the same went for Daisy because even dealing with her addiction, she knew what she was doing was wrong.
Though some scenes might be different, in general, this part is the same in the show. Billy and Daisy would spend hours writing and then bring back the songs to the band for them to compose the music..
This is a big turning point in their relationship since Daisy almost pushes Billy to accept they have feelings for each other. It’s also what creates the tension during the cover shoot. In the show, Billy and Daisy fight over their kiss, which only increases the sentiments that the book wants to portray.
In the show, Camila shoots the album cover since she also takes photos of the band that day. However, in the novel, the official photographer captures the images for the cover: one of the band with Daisy and Billy looking at each other and one of Daisy and Billy’s torsos.
10. Billy and Camila as a family
I think the show made clear that family was important to Billy, but it also portrayed him as a lousy husband and parent. In reality, Billy was present in his house as much as he could for his three daughters. That’s right after Julia, Camila has twins.
Post-rehab, Billy is always in constant battle with himself, but he is there for Camila and the girls all the time. I also want to add that the storyline between Camila and Eddie never happens. From the book, we can assume Camila does sleep with a guy from high school one night, but that’s it.
11. Daisy’s marriage
After the book’s cover shoot, Daisy travels to Phuket, Thailand, meets Nicky, an Italian prince, and travels to Italy to get married. In the show, the main difference is the location since Daisy ends up in Greece.
As in the show, Nicky is a bad influence on Daisy, and Simone almost has to beg her to return to rehearse for the tour. The beginning was as catastrophic as portrayed; Daisy and Billy could not stand each other.
But then, in the original plot, they have a Christmas break from the tour, and Daisy and Nicky travel to Italy to see his family. Here is where Daisy overdoses and Nicky doesn’t know what to do except to put her in the shower. After this, Daisy decides to leave him. This shows Daisy’s character growth in the book compared to the series.
12. The band breaks up
This is a crucial turning point for Billy, as he realizes his feelings for Daisy when he sings with her on stage. After this, Daisy goes to Billy’s room to tell him she wants to get clean and go to rehab. Unfortunately, Teddy Price dies that night, and Daisy’s addiction gets worse.
We don’t see all of this in the series, which takes away from both characters’ growth.
Everything that made Daisy burn, made me burn. Everything I loved about the world, Daisy loved about the world. Everything I struggled with, Daisy struggled with. We were two halves. We were the same. In that way you’re only the same with a few other people. In that way that you don’t even feel like you have to say your own thoughts because you know the other person is already thinking them.
Taylor Jenkins Reid
The series definitely leaned toward the drama of the story, with Billy leaving in the middle of the last song. In the book, Daisy and Billy sing Honeycomb together, but this time, Daisy decides to sing the original version Billy wrote about Camila. Then, the concert ends.
In the book, Billy doesn’t relapse until the end after the Chicago concert. He goes down to the lobby while Camila and the girls are upstairs and drinks half a glass. Then, he decides to quit and go up to his room to be with his family, leaving his rock and roll days behind.
Still dealing with addiction, Daisy gets up to her room after the concern is hammered, and Camila helps her get into her hotel room. Then, while they are talking, Camila asks Daisy to leave because Billy will never leave his family for her. Daisy understands, and the next day, she leaves. In the TV series, Daisy leaves with the rest of the band once the band breaks up in Chicago.
13. The last scene
The good news is that this last moment from Camila is very similar to the book. However, she doesn’t leave a message for her daughters on video but in a letter.
After I’m gone, give your dad some time. And then please tell him to call Daisy Jones. Her number is in my date book in the second drawer of my nightstand. Tell your father I said at the very least, the two of them owe me a song.
Writing this comparison between Daisy Jones and The Six book vs show helped me understand Reid’s story. I think the plot represents the idea that you have power over your life through the choices you make, and sometimes, you have to let go, even of the person you love the most.