How does a good band become a great band?
Daisy Jones and the Six adapts Taylor Jenkins Reid's novel of the same name that follows the rise and fall of the titular Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and The Six, featuring dreamy frontman Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin), guitarist Graham Dunne (Will Harrison), bassist Eddie Loving (Josh Whitehouse), keyboardist Karen Sirko (Suki Waterhouse), and drummer Warren Rhodes (Sebastian Chacon).
It's a story of rock-and-roll heartbreak, with massive highs and lows, and the show cranks up the drama. From the "Honeycomb" name change to Camila and Eddie, here are the biggest changes Daisy Jones and the Six has made so far.
Contradicting oral history vs. cohesive narrative
The novel takes the shape of an oral history of The Six's dynamite rise to stardom and infamous split. It's told entirely through interviews with the band, other key players, and eyewitnesses. The interviews are conducted roughly 30 to 40 years after the band's split, as the members reflect on their time in the band with distance and (some) maturity. Each member remembers how everything went down slightly differently, leaving what really happened elusive and up to interpretation. The author's note reads: "It should also be noted that, on matters both big and small, sometimes accounts of the same event differ. The truth often lies, unclaimed, in the middle."
The show's first episode opens with Daisy and each member of The Six beginning their interviews, which take place only 20 years after the breakup. Lazy aging makeup aside, the shortened time since the band split changes the band member's perspective — the difference between 40 and 60 years old is stark — and leaves them with rawer emotional wounds from their time in the band and more to lose.
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Additionally, unlike in the book, we actually see a cohesive story of the rise of the band in the moment; there's no ambiguity over what went down. The show relies much less on the interviews, and they instead serve to establish a sheen of nostalgia and offer insight into the different band members' perspectives.
Creation of The Six
In the book, Billy and Graham start the band together and bring members in, truly embodying their original band name, The Dunne Brothers.
In episode 1, Graham alone decides to start a band with his crew of nerdy friends — Eddie, Warren, and Chuck — in order to get his girlfriend back. He tempts them to join by saying his cool older brother Billy will join too. But in his interview, Billy claims, "I never agreed to be in their band. I said I would listen and maybe give them some pointers."
Despite his initial reluctance, Billy immediately takes charge. This change establishes a power dynamic within the band and Billy's dictatorship much earlier on than in the novel. The decision compensates for changes to The Six's timeline, hones in on Billy's centrality from the start, and foreshadows the precarious nature of The Six.
The wedding
In the book, The Dunne Brothers are performing at their first wedding gig when Billy and Graham spot their estranged father, who is drunkenly dancing with a much younger woman. Their dad doesn't so much as spare his sons a glance, and Billy deals with it by chugging beers and asking out a pretty cocktail waitress – and his future wife – Camila (Camila Morrone).
The show amps up the drama at the wedding to the max. Billy confronts their father, smashes his guitar, and Graham punches him in the face. Moments later in the parking lot, Billy announces to the band, "We're going to be the biggest band in the fucking world!" This sequence effectively sets up Billy's deep-rooted daddy issues, but it also alters his character by having him seek validation in music and fame, sidelining Camila's importance.
In the show, Camilla and Billy's meet-cute takes place at a laundromat where she humbles him. But fear not, he still uses the atrocious line "You give me your number, and I'll write you a song."
Chuck D.D.S.
Right before the band has their first small break opening for The Winters in the show, Chuck quits to go to dental school. This is a major tonal shift from the book, in which Chuck is drafted to Vietnam and dies six months later. In the show, Chuck serves as a source of doubt —suggesting a safer, more financially secure option for the band — rather than inspiration for the band to pursue their dreams.
In episode 2, Warren says, "Maybe ol' Chuckie was right. Maybe this was all just a big mistake, and we should have stayed at home with our moms to save money on rent and become dentists." It's one of a series of changes that both sanitizes and adds levity to the source material.
The Five: Where is Pete?
The show nixes The Six's bassist Pete Loving entirely. In the book, Pete is Eddie's older brother, and he brings Eddie into the band to be the rhythm guitarist when Chuck is drafted. Pete's whole thing is having a girlfriend back on the East Coast. In the show, Eddie is an original band member and is forced to switch to bass when Chuck leaves, one of many seeds of resentment planted.
The show explains away the misnumbered name during a brief scene where Karen suggests The Six, claiming Camila as the unofficial sixth member. Plus, Warren adds, they can't be The Five because there's The Dave Clark Five and The Jackson Five. The show has Camila much more involved in the band than she was in the novel, so this explanation makes sense, to some extent.
Timeline of The Six
In the show, the band powers through Chuck's departure, opens for The Winters, and meets their future keyboardist, Karen. After their performance, they receive life-changing advice from their future tour manager Rod Reyes: "Get the fuck out of Pittsburgh."
With no planning or further direction from Rod, they decide to move to LA that same night and leave the next morning. At first, Camila refuses to come to LA, but by morning she's changed her mind and gets in the van, which robs us of one of several essential Billy and Camila moments! More on this later.
The show reduces Rod's role and downgrades him from The Six's manager to their touring manager. In the book, the band has an established relationship with Rod, not to mention a lot more experience before moving out to LA. The band opens for The Winters for several shows on their Northeastern tour, where they convince Karen to join the band. When Karen joins, they change their name from The Dunne Brothers to The Six. They get more gigs and catch the eye of Rod in NYC, who sets up more shows for them on the East Coast and then helps them move to LA, where he hooks them up with gigs.
The lack of planning adds drama, humor, and excitement to the show — as if being in a rock-and-roll band isn't already enough.
Teddy Price
One of the most memorable scenes from episode 2 is unique to the show. It features Billy accosting Teddy Price (Tom Wright) at the grocery store and getting him to agree to listen to one of their songs. Billy is fixated on having Teddy produce their album from the start. On the show, he's not just their producer but also their main point of contact in the music industry. He essentially absorbs some of Rod's role, as well as that of Daisy's manager, Hank.
In the book, The Six's intro to Teddy is much less exciting, and his mythos grows as he becomes a father figure to Billy and Daisy. Rod introduces the band to Teddy at the Troubadour, they play him 10 songs, and he gets them a record deal.
In the show, Teddy approaches Daisy after she performs at the Troubadour and offers to shape her. She doesn't want to be shaped and storms off. A similar power struggle ensues in the book, but only after she's been signed to Teddy's record label and forced to sing covers.
Regardless, it's Teddy who consistently gets through to Billy and Daisy and pushes them.
Camilly
Perhaps the changes that will upset fans of the novel most are made to Camila, Billy's wife. In the book, Camila is a force, Billy's rock in his struggle with addiction, and comfortable with her position as a rising rockstar's stay-at-home wife. The show suggests otherwise.
In the show, Camila is introduced as a photographer rather than "wife of Billy Dunne." She's constantly recording and photographing the band, giving her a more official role. When she moves to LA with Billy, she acts as a quasi-manager, cold-calling record labels, sending photos of the band to newspapers, and is even folded into the band's name.
In the book, Camila and Billy break up when The Six relocates to LA. And in one of the more romantic moments, Billy calls Camila and says, "If I had a record contract, would you marry me?" Camila accepts and comes out to LA to be with him.
In episode 2, Camila reveals her pregnancy to Billy the day before The Six leaves for tour, and it's only then that they decide to get married. They proceed to have a full-blown wedding that night, with proper decorations and guests. However, Billy and Camila's wedding is one of the most memorable scenes in the novel; they get married last minute in the middle of the night, and Karen decorates trees with aluminum foil. Between the proposal and wedding changes, the show presents Camila and Billy's relationship less romantically, setting up viewers to be team Daisy and Billy.
In the show, the first tour is told primarily from Camila's perspective of the pregnant wife at home, while in the book we really see Billy's downfall and heroin addiction.
Simone
Daisy's best friend and disco icon Simone Jackson (Nabiyah Be) has a much larger role in the show and gets to be a character in her own right rather than a talking head that adds context to Daisy. In the show, we see her career play out as a foil to Daisy's, which also allows for more disco content!
SevenEightNine
In episode 3, it's revealed that Billy's stint in rehab gets The Six dropped from their label. Additionally, they were forced to pay their advance back, and the band members are now working odd jobs. Billy quits the band to focus on being a faithful husband and father, while initially barely doing either of those things. The remaining members of The Six audition new frontmen before deciding on…Eddie. C'mon, you can't be serious. The show does everything in its power to increase Eddie's animosity towards Billy, and the bitter bassist is no match for Billy's charisma and stage presence.
In the show, Billy writes a song, plays it for the band, and is welcomed back with open arms – aside from Eddie. Teddy likes it and brings it to the label, but The Six has burned too many bridges, and the label isn't willing to take another chance on them. Teddy brings in Daisy as a last-ditch effort to try to fix the song.
In the book, none of this happens! Billy returns from rehab and immediately starts working on the band's second album, SevenEightNine. Daisy is brought in because they aren't confident they have a lead single. These changes both delay Daisy and the band's first encounter and raise the stakes. Everyone loves an underdog, and it's a fun twist to make Daisy and The Six underdogs together.
Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)
In episode 4, "Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)," the song Daisy and Billy wrote at the end of episode 3, comes out and catches on like wildfire. Invited to perform at Diamond Head Festival in Hawaii, Daisy and Billy butt heads, but the show is undeniably magical. However, after Billy tells the press that Daisy and The Six won't be collaborating again, they fight and Billy tells her to "have a nice life."
In the book, Daisy and Billy first perform "Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)" – which is just called "Honeycomb" – at The Whisky in Los Angeles, where The Six is doing a residency to promote SevenEightNine. One night Daisy is in the crowd, so they bring her on stage to perform. It goes so well that their record label announces that Daisy will open for The Six on their world tour, The Numbers Tour.
Without The Six's second album and accompanying tour, the show fast tracks Aurora, and the Diamond Head performance amps up the magic of Daisy and Billy's first live performance together.
Daisy joining the band
In episode 4 everyone wants Daisy to join The Six except for Billy. Camila intervenes and invites Daisy to their housewarming party. Billy almost comes around and makes a halfhearted attempt to invite her to join the band, but Daisy stands her ground and walks away from him. The power goes out and the band, including Daisy, have an impromptu candle-lit acoustic performance that changes everything. By the start of episode 5, Daisy is an official member of The Six.
In the book, Daisy has a moment of clarity on The Numbers Tour where she fires her abusive manager, Hank — who is cut entirely from the show, diluting Daisy's character — on the night that Jonah Berg of Rolling Stone magazine is in the crowd. Hank sabotages Daisy and takes her backing band with him. Daisy scrambles and ends up doing her opening set with Eddie playing guitar. Then, Billy comes out and takes the guitar from Eddie to do an intimate rendition of "Honeycomb." For the first time on the tour Daisy stays on stage for the rest of The Six's set. Eddie is pissed at Billy for overshadowing him and smashes his guitar. This memorable performance sets into motion the dynamics of the band that define the novel and lead to their breakup.
Jonah's headline for the Rolling Stone article is "The Six That Should Be Seven," which forces Billy's hand in allowing Daisy to join the band. The sequence of events that leads to Daisy joining The Six is much more exciting in the novel and gives you the sense that it almost didn't happen. In the show, the decision for Daisy to join the band is less external and more of an inevitability. It emphasizes the relationships between Daisy and members of The Six and highlights her new found family.
Karen and Graham
After encouragement from Camila, at the end of episode 4 Graham kisses Camila, and she politely rejects him. Then, Caroline introduces herself to Graham. In episode 5, Graham, Karen, and Caroline go to the beach. Karen sees Graham's attractive qualities through Caroline's eyes and realizes she wants him. When they arrive home from the beach Karen jumps his bones.
In the book, Graham and Karen's luggage gets mixed up on The Numbers Tour, and Graham returns a duffle of bras and underwear to Karen. Karen says to him, "Oh, I bet you just love having your hands on my panties," and Graham replies, "If I get my hands on those panties, I want to have earned it the old-fashioned way." Later that day, Karen calls Graham's hotel room and asks why he's never made a move on her. He says, "I don't take shots I know I'll miss." She replies, "I don't think you'll miss, Dunne." Then Graham sprints over to her hotel room, and they share a passionate kiss.
The show thankfully devotes more time to developing Karen and Graham's relationship, and it's a joy to watch the fan-favorite characters get more screen time.
Daisy and Billy kissing in a tree
By episode 6 the tension between Daisy and Billy is undeniable and immediately gets complicated. Jonah from Rolling Stone is writing his first story on Daisy Jones and The Six and observes a charged moment between Daisy and Billy. Daisy exits, leaving Billy and Jonah alone in the studio together. Billy tells Jonah, "It's not what you think man… It's not exactly [an act], but it's not real life either." Jonah later relays this to Daisy, and she's understandably upset and lashes out by not showing up to record the next day. Billy goes looking for Daisy and finds her strung out in the pool, inspiring him to write "More Fun To Miss." The next day, while recording the song, Daisy storms out of the studio.
They fight in the parking lot, and Daisy says, "You want me to sing your song? I'll fucking sing your song if you tell me the truth. Tell me that there is nothing going on between us." In response, Billy kisses her. She makes her triumphant return to the studio and sings her heart out.
The sequence makes for great television and suggests that for Billy their relationship is about the music…or at least that's what he's telling himself. Billy manipulating Daisy for the music becomes a central theme in their relationship.
In the book, these two scenes happen separately. Billy writes "Impossible Woman," the book equivalent of "More Fun To Miss," and pushes Daisy to sing it in a feral, exceptionally raw way. It's only after writing a couple of more emotionally charged songs that Billy tells Daisy he "likes a lot about her" and she leans in to kiss him. Their lips "barely graze," and Billy cuts it off. In the novel, their relationship is about making great music, but Daisy is also a source of temptation for Billy, and he grapples with how acting on his feelings for her would result in him losing control of his sobriety and family. In the book we see the tension rise between Daisy and Billy, but we never get the pay off that the show gives us.
Love...rectangle?
By the time Billy and Daisy are writing Aurora in the book, Camila and Billy have had twin girls. However, they are completely cut from the show. During that period, Camila would put their three daughters to bed and wait up for Billy. The show has Billy getting home late every night. Additionally, Billy writes the titular track, "Aurora," about Camila, so while the rest of the album explores Daisy and Billy's relationship, they choose to center the album around song about Camila. These changes simplify his relationship with Camila and his betrayal.
Because Camila is more involved in the band in the show, when Daisy joins the band Camila isn't just sidelined from her relationship with her husband, but from her unofficial role in the band. This makes Billy's duplicity cut even deeper.
In episode 6, after Billy kisses Daisy, Camila accompanies Billy to the Aurora album shoot. Billy and Daisy get into a fiery fight, while Camila observes at a distance and captures the moment on her camera. From Camila's perspective, we hear damning snippets of their argument that include the phrase "your wife." In the book, Camila is not involved in the Aurora album shoot at all.
In one of the most jaw-dropping changes from the book, Camila gets together with Eddie in retaliation. The show heavily hinted at Eddie's feeling for Camila. This unnecessary change serves to increase hostility between Eddie and Billy, but Eddie was spiteful enough in the book! Putting Eddie and Camila together makes The Six excessively messy.
In the novel, Camila also flirts with infidelity by meeting up with a high school crush, and it's implied it's more than just friendly.
Simone the struggling disco star
Episode 7 begins with Simone arriving at the NYC club where her long-distance lover Bernie (Ayesha Harris) DJ's; it's also where the two women promote Simone's music, culminating in a record deal. As stated above, Simone is a minor character in the book, which gives the show creators freedom to expand her character. In the book, all we know about Simone's career is that her first album flops and her record label drops her. Then, she gets signed to a different record label and finds international success with her R&B dance hits in Europe; she leaves to tour Europe while Daisy is working on her debut album.
Daisy's escape to Hydra
The show draws out 3.5 pages of the novel into an entire episode. When the band goes on break after completing Aurora, Daisy disappears to Hydra, a Greek island. She sends Simone a telegram that reads, "I need you – Daisy," and Simone and Bernie drop everything, potentially at the expense of their careers, to meet her in Greece. There they find Daisy engaged to Nicky (Gavin Drea), who claims to be of Irish nobility. During Simone and Bernie's stay in Greece, Daisy and Nicky get married, and Simone fights with Daisy about returning to The Six.
Simone discovers that Daisy lied about her identity to Nicky – she told him she's a poet. Nicky is clearly manipulative and twists Simone's sexuality against her by telling Daisy that Simone only wants her to return to The Six because she's in love with her. Daisy falls for Nicky's trap and gets into a friendship-altering fight with Simone that results in Simone leaving Hydra. But the fight was for nothing because then Nicky finds Daisy's Rolling Stone cover and encourage her to go back to LA.
In the book, Daisy escapes to Thailand and sends Simone a postcard with an entirely different tone: "Come to Phuket. Bring coke and a lipstick." Then she meets Nicky, who is Italian "royalty," and leaves with him to Florence and then Rome before Simone arrives. Daisy and Nicky get married, and Simone finally tracks Daisy down in Rome and drags her back to LA.
Spending more time with Daisy away is an attempt at fleshing out her headspace, feelings for Billy, and why she marries Nicky, but the show is at its most compelling when Daisy and Billy are in the same room!
Per usual, the show amps up the drama of Daisy's trip. She's essentially gone missing and doesn't return until after the album release party and tour rehearsals. In the book, she comes back to do press for Aurora and tour rehearsals. The most frustrating change is small but carries emotional weight. In the show, present-day Daisy says, "I don't regret that day," in reference to her wedding day, but in the book she says, "I regret that marriage, but I don't regret that dress." The modification validates Daisy's toxic relationship with Nicky and doesn't do justice to Daisy's character development.
The tour
In episode 8, Daisy Jones and The Six finally go on their first tour, and tension between Daisy and Billy is at an all-time high — and not in a sexual way. At the same time, Daisy is on a self-destructive downward spiral that's exacerbated by receiving a letter from her absentee mother.
Billy notices Daisy's increased drug use and approaches Rod about it. He suggests talking to Nicky. Billy and Nicky's conversation quickly escalates, and Billy throws the first punch. In the book, Nicky and Billy get in a blow-out confrontation, but it never gets physical. Nicky steps in when Billy and Daisy fight over Billy, offering her his jacket in the studio. Nicky tells Billy, "You stay away from her…You don't talk to her, you don't touch her, you don't even look at her."
Episode 8 culminates with Daisy overdosing. Billy goes to Daisy's hotel room with the intention of kicking her out of the band and finds Nicky panicking in the doorway. Billy storms into the room and finds Daisy passed out in the shower. Rod calls a doctor, and Billy cradles Daisy in his arms. She wakes up and says, "It's you."
In the novel, Daisy overdoses in Rome while the band is on break from tour. She wakes up in the shower with Nicky leaning over her. She has a come-to-Jesus moment: "While I had no idea whether or not I overdosed or what exactly happened that night, I could tell he had been truly terrified. And all he did was put me in the shower." She waits until Nicky takes a nap, then packs her bags and leaves him a message that she wants a divorce.
Billy saving Daisy is a cliche and does a disservice to her character and robs her of an important, self-preserving decision.
Teddy's heart attack
In episode 9, Teddy has a heart attack at the Saturday Night Live after party. He's rushed to the hospital. While he's in surgery, Daisy and Billy reflect on their careers and addictions, and they decide to turn over a new leaf in their relationship. Then, Teddy wakes up. In the book, Teddy doesn't come to the band's SNL performance, and Billy gets a call early the next morning that Teddy died from a heart attack. Daisy and the band fly out to Los Angeles for the funeral, and his death serves as a catalyst for Billy and Daisy's final downward spiral.
The hometown show
After Teddy's health scare, the band plays their hometown show in Pittsburg. Tensions are rising between the members of the band – Billy takes Eddie's bass to play with Daisy, and Karen and Graham grapple with Karen's pregnancy – and the show tries to replace the trauma of Teddy's death with the drama of the hometown show. After the show, Daisy and Billy do the crossword at his parents' house and talk about the future. Billy tells Daisy that he'll never leave Camila; unfortunately, Camila happens to see them through the window during this intimate moment, and it has the reverse effect, instilling her with doubt over their marriage.
In the book, the band takes a break after Teddy's death, and when they return to touring, they are all messily mourning. Camila and the girls joined Billy on tour, so there isn't that same marital tension leading into the final show.
The end of The Six
In the final episode, Camila arrives in Chicago for the show. She gets into a yelling match with Billy about Daisy where Camila tells Billy, "we have both done things," and Billy admits that he kissed Daisy for "like a second." The fight culminates in Camila begging Billy to "tell me that you don't love her," but Billy's reply falls short: "Nothing ever happened, and nothing ever will." Then, Camila confronts Daisy and tells her that she and Billy deserve each other and leaves.
Later, Eddie and Billy come to blows when Eddie reveals that he's quitting the band because — shockingly — he's felt sidelined by Billy the entire time he's been in the band. Billy gives it right back to Eddie, and then Eddie hints at his relationship with Camila, so Billy punches him in the face. In the book, none of these confrontations happen.
In the show, Daisy opens a letter from her mother and calls her, only for her mother to call her a "selfish little shit." Immediately after the call, Daisy nosedives out of control and is doing copious amounts of cocaine and drinking heavily. While the conflict with her mother simplifies Daisy's breakdown, we do get the epic line, "Next time you want to hear my voice, why don't you try the fucking radio."
Billy calls Camila and begs her to come to the show that night; thinking that she's left him for good, he ends his sobriety and takes a shot. He continues to drink heavily before the show, and with nothing to lose, he kisses Daisy before they go on stage.
Daisy and Billy are all over each other during the final show, and during the break before the encore, they are passionately making out. They pause to do coke, and Billy proposes that they be "broken together," but Daisy realizes that she doesn't want to be broken anymore. The band goes on stage for their final song, and Daisy gives a speech that encourages Billy to leave the concert early to chase after Camila. Billy and Camila reconcile, and Daisy tells Rod she's quitting the band to go to rehab.
In the book, Daisy and Billy do a particularly raw, exposed rendition of "Honeycomb" and are forced to grapple with their feelings for each other. Heartbroken over Daisy, Billy goes to the hotel bar and drinks half a glass of tequila. Meanwhile, Camila comforts Daisy, who is similarly suffering in her hotel room. The two women have a heart to heart, and Camila tells Daisy that Billy loves her but they are tearing each other apart and that Daisy is worth saving from the wreckage of their relationship. By morning, Daisy is gone.
Without Teddy's death, the show has to amp up the tension leading up to the band's conclusion, with marital drama between Billy and Camila and maternal drama with Daisy. That decision makes the reason for Daisy and Billy's simultaneous spiral more confusing. In the book, it's clear that Daisy and Billy ruin each other.
Julia's big reveal
In the show, it's revealed that Billy and Camila's daughter Julia is the one interviewing everyone when Billy recounts his reconciliation with Camila after the concert because she also remembers that night.
In the book, Julia remembers Daisy and Camila's talk and corroborates Daisy's memory of the night because Camila is no longer alive. This change robs Julia and Daisy of the special connection they have in the book.
Daisy and Billy's reunion
In the show, Julia shows Daisy and Billy a clip of Camila before her death giving them the go-ahead to meet up again. Then Billy is shown arriving at Daisy's front door. The ending of the book is more ambiguous. It ends with an email written by Camila giving Daisy and Billy her blessing to write her a song.
All episodes of Daisy Jones and the Six are out now on Prime Video.
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