What happens in the 70s stays in the 70s. At least until a reporter comes along and turns all that drug, sex, and rock n’ roll into a documentary.
Such is the premise for Amazon’s latest adaptation, Daisy Jones & The Six. The 13-episode limited series, based on the novel of the same name by Taylor Jenkins Reid, showcases the meteoric rise and fall of fictional 70s rock n’ roll band Daisy Jones & The Six. It offers a never before seen look at the star-crossed love story of lead singers Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and Billy Dune (Sam Claflin), peels back the curtain on the lives of the five other band members, and puts a magnifying glass to the events that precipitated what would become the most infamous downfall in rock n’ roll history.
Amazon released its first official clip of the highly-anticipated series today, along with an in-depth Vanity Fair cover. In the 18-second clip, we get our first glimpse of Daisy and Billy in action as both stand behind their respective microphones on a stage whose stadium is crowded by thousands of attendees. Billy tosses Daisy a swanky wink and Daisy tosses her head back and arms out as she soaks in the cries of the thousands of fans who chant her name.
The musical project has been slowly crawling towards its release ever since Amazon Studios picked up the rights to the adaptation in 2018, months before the novel version was even published. Filming began back in Sept. 2021 after hefty delays due to COVID-19 and only officially wrapped this past May.
The limited series sports an all-star cast of actors and newly minted musicians, including Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough as the titular character, and Hunger Games actor Sam Claflin as her star-crossed lover and fellow lead singer, Billy Dune. The show is executive produced by the lover of book adaptations herself, Reese Witherspoon, and produced under her production company Hello Sunshine.
Heavily influenced by the real-life events of Fleetwood Mac, Daisy Jones & The Six is told through the oral history of each individual band member as they recount the events that led to their superstardom and the cracks along the way that brought about their infamous downfall. As one can expect of a show based in the 70s, drugs, sex, and rock n’ roll are front and center, but the 795 costume changes throughout the series are the real star; expect a ton of bell-bottom pants, frayed jeans, maxi dresses, and tie-dye blouses. Not to mention the mustaches. A lot of mustaches.
Above and beyond that, Daisy Jones & The Six will showcase original music performed by the cast members themselves, which includes Suki Waterhouse as the keyboardist Karen Sirko, Sebastian Chaconf as the drummer Warren Rhodes, Will Harrison as the lead guitarist Graham Dunne, and Josh Whitehouse as the bassist Eddie Roundtree, whose character appears to be a combination of Pete Loving and Eddie Loving from the books.
The show was filmed in the real-life locations of the Troubadour, the Viper Room, and Whisky a Go Go, among others. It was also the first production in the last 30 years to shut down Sunset Boulevard.
Daisy Jones & The Six will officially release on Amazon Prime Video beginning March 3.
