Dash & Lily: Dash & Lily - Season 1 Books Included
November 12, 2020 10:38 AM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe
Opposites attract at Christmas as cynical Dash and sunny Lily trade messages and dares in a red notebook they pass back and forth around New York City. (Netflix, YA book adaptation)
Collider Review: Netflix’s Christmas Romcom Is Sugary Sweet and Charming AF
The Wrap: ‘Dash & Lily’ Star Austin Abrams on Why His Holiday Rom-Com Is the ‘Escapist TV’ You Need Right Now - “I feel like the last thing I want to watch right now is something really f—ed up,” “The Walking Dead” alum tells The Wrap
Polygon review: Netflix’s YA rom-com Dash & Lily shows the festive appeal of a well-worn recipe - A romantic holiday romp through New York hits a whole lot different this year
Decider - Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Dash & Lily’ On Netflix, A Christmas-Themed Series Where Two Teens Fall In Love Via A Notebook
AV Club - Dash & Lily's Dante Brown and Troy Iwata on the joys of a good slice of pizza
Collider Review: Netflix’s Christmas Romcom Is Sugary Sweet and Charming AF
The Wrap: ‘Dash & Lily’ Star Austin Abrams on Why His Holiday Rom-Com Is the ‘Escapist TV’ You Need Right Now - “I feel like the last thing I want to watch right now is something really f—ed up,” “The Walking Dead” alum tells The Wrap
Polygon review: Netflix’s YA rom-com Dash & Lily shows the festive appeal of a well-worn recipe - A romantic holiday romp through New York hits a whole lot different this year
Decider - Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Dash & Lily’ On Netflix, A Christmas-Themed Series Where Two Teens Fall In Love Via A Notebook
AV Club - Dash & Lily's Dante Brown and Troy Iwata on the joys of a good slice of pizza
I haven’t seen this yet, but I love that streamers are starting to release adaptations as a self-contained season of episodes, instead of as a single overstuffed movie.
Last year’s Netflix YA Christmas special Let It Snow absolutely would’ve benefited from this approach, especially since it was already based on a short story anthology. And most of the issues I had with Ebola Holmes’ pacing would’ve gone away if it had been eight episodes instead of a film.
I also just personally love the idea of a standalone Christmas TV show.
Anyway, I’m really excited to start this over the weekend!
posted by Ian A.T. at 5:20 AM on November 13, 2020
Last year’s Netflix YA Christmas special Let It Snow absolutely would’ve benefited from this approach, especially since it was already based on a short story anthology. And most of the issues I had with Ebola Holmes’ pacing would’ve gone away if it had been eight episodes instead of a film.
I also just personally love the idea of a standalone Christmas TV show.
Anyway, I’m really excited to start this over the weekend!
posted by Ian A.T. at 5:20 AM on November 13, 2020
(“Ebola Holmes” was an autocorrect failure, I’m not auditioning for Mad magazine...)
posted by Ian A.T. at 5:32 AM on November 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Ian A.T. at 5:32 AM on November 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
I just finished it and thought it was rather charming.
posted by gaspode at 12:21 PM on November 13, 2020
posted by gaspode at 12:21 PM on November 13, 2020
Vulture - Every Question I Had While Watching Dash & Lily: "Happy holidays, it’s the middle of November. Which means there’s eight whole episodes of a teenage Christmas rom-com, Dash & Lily, waiting for you on Netflix. It’s very sweet, but also in that classic holiday entertainment way it is grounded absolutely 0 percent in reality, which forced me to spend four hours binging it while simultaneously screaming at my television. (For whatever that is worth, I did feel compelled to watch it all in a single sitting.) It’s got holiday cheer and absentee parents. It’s got teens running absolutely wild in empty New York City landmarks. You’ll laugh. You’ll probably not cry. You’ll ideally feel some joy. And you’ll have questions. So many questions. Here are mine, in chronological order, if you care to read along during your screening. And before you take to the comments or Twitter to yell at me and tell me I overanalyzed a sweet, silly show about teens … yes, I know. My brain is broken."
Vulture did individual episode recaps too.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:16 AM on November 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
Vulture did individual episode recaps too.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:16 AM on November 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've been trying to find out who Ms. Basil E's character (not the actress) reminds me of.
The show itself was fun and pretty well done.
posted by kurumi at 7:59 PM on November 20, 2020
The show itself was fun and pretty well done.
posted by kurumi at 7:59 PM on November 20, 2020
Yeah, I can't figure out where I recognize Mrs. Basil E from either, but love her.
I loved this. I spent most of the day watching it all and wowza. I was pretty heartbroken during episodes 6 and 7, but 8 turned it all around. Very endearing. I love scavenger hunt stuff (this is like, my third this Xmas after some Hallmark movies) and I really relate to Lily in being a weirdo who's afraid to drive people away.
I even liked Sofia, and Benny was a delight. Not sure what the hell is up with Edgar, though?
Is the book worth reading?
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:08 PM on December 22, 2020
I loved this. I spent most of the day watching it all and wowza. I was pretty heartbroken during episodes 6 and 7, but 8 turned it all around. Very endearing. I love scavenger hunt stuff (this is like, my third this Xmas after some Hallmark movies) and I really relate to Lily in being a weirdo who's afraid to drive people away.
I even liked Sofia, and Benny was a delight. Not sure what the hell is up with Edgar, though?
Is the book worth reading?
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:08 PM on December 22, 2020
Yeah, I can't figure out where I recognize Mrs. Basil E from either, but love her.
She was the mom in Margaret Cho's old "All-American Girl" sitcom, and her imdb has a slew of guest-star/recurring tv credits and a smattering of movie parts from the 1980's onward. (I must admit that the thing I realized I was remembering her from was as the trying-too-hard-to-be-hip mom of the bi-racial Black/Korean-American character from Rob Schneider's "The Hot Chick".)
posted by oh yeah! at 3:21 AM on December 23, 2020
She was the mom in Margaret Cho's old "All-American Girl" sitcom, and her imdb has a slew of guest-star/recurring tv credits and a smattering of movie parts from the 1980's onward. (I must admit that the thing I realized I was remembering her from was as the trying-too-hard-to-be-hip mom of the bi-racial Black/Korean-American character from Rob Schneider's "The Hot Chick".)
posted by oh yeah! at 3:21 AM on December 23, 2020
I haven’t read the books. I watched the whole series and I enjoyed it. There’s a structural problem with the series. In order to believe that two people fall in love with each other via writing there have be letters and the letters have to be revealing. It’s hard to to do an epistolary romance in a TV show. It’s not something that the medium naturally supports. If what we see our lovers exchange is a series of dares with a dash of we’ve read the same books thrown in, that’s not a believable basis for a romance. What the hell pretty people, rom-com, some Christmas, there’s no need to think too much about it.
posted by rdr at 6:10 AM on January 4, 2021
posted by rdr at 6:10 AM on January 4, 2021
I don't think epistolary romances are usually done very well on film, but I'd say this is better than most. D&L do say things that reveal their personality. Whereas say, "You've Got Mail," weren't they just writing emails about the smell of fall and sharpened pencils and boring crap like that? From what I recall, the various "Shop Around The Corner"/"She Loves Me", versions of that story as well have all been pretty generic. Like, no wonder you can't ID your pen pal, you don't know anything personal about them! How are you in love with them if they don't say anything interesting or have a point of view?
I actually read a book, "Alex, Approximately," that is of the same ilk of plot that features the girl moving to the guy's town, but she's not sure if she wants to reveal herself to her Internet pen pal or not right off the bat, so she uses the details she knows about him to try to meet him IRL first and see if she wants to. Unfortunately for her, she knows details like "the family owns a surf shop" and "there's a cat in front of it frequently" and it's a beach town and a LOT OF PLACES fall into those categories, so tracking him down IRL even with the details she has doesn't work that great either!
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:18 PM on January 4, 2021
I actually read a book, "Alex, Approximately," that is of the same ilk of plot that features the girl moving to the guy's town, but she's not sure if she wants to reveal herself to her Internet pen pal or not right off the bat, so she uses the details she knows about him to try to meet him IRL first and see if she wants to. Unfortunately for her, she knows details like "the family owns a surf shop" and "there's a cat in front of it frequently" and it's a beach town and a LOT OF PLACES fall into those categories, so tracking him down IRL even with the details she has doesn't work that great either!
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:18 PM on January 4, 2021
Watched this over the last week with my 11 year old daughter. I enjoyed it and she was completely enthralled and invested in the story. I've never lived in NYC so even if some of the details were a little unbelievable it was easy enough for me to pretend they were in some random medium-large city.
posted by Night_owl at 10:03 AM on December 4, 2023
posted by Night_owl at 10:03 AM on December 4, 2023
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I don't know how much I would have liked this show if it had been released last Christmas season; watching it now it's loaded with such nostalgia for pre-pandemic NYC that I can't really judge it on its own merits. I'm not a Walking Dead fan, so I didn't find Abrams particularly compelling. But I enjoyed the rest of the cast, and the snapshot of fairytale NYC, so, thumbs up.
posted by oh yeah! at 10:53 AM on November 12, 2020