"As a book lover, one thing that excites me most is seeing stories brought to screens—especially if it’s a book that’s beloved by a huge fandom. So when I saw that Daisy Jones and the Six, written by Taylor Jenkins Reid—whose The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo went a little viral last year—was getting a miniseries, I knew I wanted to reread the book before watching.
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It’s always fun to see big and small changes that are made in adaptations, but those changes don’t always make fans happy. In this case, I really do believe the tweaks, both big and small, made Daisy Jones and the Six even better. If it’s been a while since you’ve read, or you’re curious about what changes were made, I’ve highlighted the key differences below. But a gentle warning—spoilers ahead!
1. Billy confronts his father at the wedding.
In the show, Billy confronts his absentee father at a wedding The Dunne Brothers were hired to play. They end up fighting and afterward it’s revealed that the man dancing with the much younger woman is Billy and Graham’s father. In the book, Billy notices his father but doesn’t approach him. While in the book this was a more subtle moment, the show made it dramatic and explosive—exactly what you want from TV.
2. Billy and Camila meet at the laundromat.
Camila and Billy’s meet-cute at the laundromat is a perfect portrayal of their characters and an overall fun scene to watch, but it’s not a scene we got in the book. For me, it’s necessary in the series. It shows watchers how Camila doesn’t feed into Billy’s ego and instead keeps him in check. We also see that Camila’s unbothered attitude seems to intrigue Billy, who is used to being fawned over. In the book, Billy meets Camila at a wedding where she’s bartending, and he instantly wins her over with a smooth line. There’s not a ton of playfulness, and Billy seems to fall for her right away. I love that the series lets their relationship slowly come together.
3. Chuck goes to college and dental school.
In the show, Chuck has a big “better than you” attitude. He quits the band right on the precipice of fame in order to go to university, and later we discover he’s gone to dental school. But in the book Chuck’s character is very short-lived. He gets drafted—and later it’s revealed that he died at war.
4. Eddie has a childhood crush on Camila.
Eddie’s crush on Camila plays a huge role in the show and compounds his feelings of jealousy toward Billy. On Camila’s end, when she becomes fed up with Billy and Daisy’s all-but-affair, she seeks comfort in Eddie, something that absolutely does not happen in the book. Personally, I think it gives show-Camila more agency than she has in the book. This scene might have upset fans, but I think it made the story all the more complex.
5. Daisy doesn’t record an album before joining The Six.
In the book, Daisy signs a record deal with Teddy and is excited to finally record her songs. The record label has other plans, and instead force her to record a series of cover songs. This was a major moment in the book, as it was one of the first things in Daisy’s life that didn’t really come easy. Overall, Daisy’s journey is a bit different in the book and rather than explore this, the show chose to eliminate it. As the rest of the story was largely the same, this omission isn’t really a slap in the face to readers.
6. Billy and Daisy’s kiss is very much a KISS.
Depending on how you interpret their interviews in the book, Daisy and Billy technically come very close to kissing—but ultimately the moment ends with Billy choosing to stay loyal to Camila. The show focuses on flashbacks that give us the “real” story: The one where Daisy and Billy do kiss out in the parking lot.
7. Daisy’s photoshoot wardrobe isn’t front and center.
One of the points of tension in the book is when Daisy shows up to the album photo shoot in a see-through top with no bra. It seems like everyone makes a comment about it, and then Billy and Daisy’s torsos end up becoming the album cover. The show eliminates this in favor of capturing Daisy and Billy fighting, which then ends up becoming the album cover.
8. Camila takes the album cover photo.
Camila is a photographer in the show, and this gives her passion and drive toward a creative outlet that somewhat mirrors the band’s struggle to success. It also puts her right in the central source of conflict during the album cover shoot, which is super juicy, since she’s the one who captures Billy and Daisy’s heated argument. This ends up becoming the album cover. In the book, the label hires a professional photographer who ends up photographing Billy and Daisy’s torsos in an artistic ode to sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It’s interesting to get the photographer’s perspective on the entire process, but I think it’s more intriguing coming from Camila. If anything, it adds to the dramatic story that is the Daisy-Billy-Camila triangle.
9. Simone struggles to make it big.
Simone’s rise to fame is much slower in the show. The book shows her reaching fame before Daisy does, and there’s not much of a struggle as she climbs her way to the top of the disco era. Her sexuality is clearly depicted in the show, and we see her struggle with men who want to take advantage of her, labels who want her identity kept secret, and finding a community who embraces her in New York City. I love that the show chose to flesh her character out a bit more.
10. Graham and Karen kiss for the first time post-surfing.
This was a really fun scene to watch unfold. Karen realizes she does, in fact, have feelings for Graham after spending a day surfing with him. When they get home, she seizes the moment. In the book, there’s an entire scene in a hotel where Karen calls Graham from her room and asks why he never made a move on her. Then he runs to Karen’s room. It’s cheeky, it’s playful, and romantic in a different way, and this is where they end up sharing a kiss for the first time.
11. Daisy’s overdose.
Daisy’s overdose happens a little differently in the book, as Nicky and Daisy are in a hotel in Italy. The rest of the band is back in the states. When Daisy wakes up in the shower, she realizes Nicky would have let her die. She calmly leaves the situation—and him. This scene feels true to her character in the book, as Daisy tends to go through tough times alone. It’s more dramatic in the series, since Billy is the one who discovers Nicky has put her unconscious body in the shower. Rod calls for help, Nicky takes off, and the next morning Daisy remembers who was actually there for her. This reveals more of Billy and Daisy’s dynamic.
12. Eddie and Billy get into a physical altercation before the Chicago show.
Things begin to crumble the day of the Chicago show, and this includes Billy decking Eddie after he confronts Billy about wanting to quit the band, then implies he may or may not have slept with his wife. At the show, Eddie has a shiner and there’s clear hatred between both men. In the book, the section dedicated to Chicago is actually pretty short. Eddie and Billy don’t fight. Eddie doesn’t want to quit the band. The biggest source of tension is Camila telling Daisy it would be best if she left the band—which doesn’t play out in the show.
13. Billy drinks at the bar with a stranger.
In the book, a stranger in Chicago subtly talks Billy out of ordering a drink at the bar by asking to see photos of his kids. Billy doesn’t give in to his temptation, walking away without drinking. In the show, we see Billy relapse. It was a huge change from how his character remains sober in the book, but I think it was a necessary tweak in order to set off a series of bad Billy decisions and make for a dramatic finale.
14. Billy and Daisy kiss backstage.
This leads us to Billy performing under the influence at the final Chicago show. He truly believes Camila has left him, so he decides to furiously make out with Daisy backstage. All of this gives a huge, dramatic flair to the show, but we don’t see it on the page. But is that really something Billy and Daisy would have admitted to in their interviews with Julia? In my opinion, not likely—though it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It just didn’t happen on the record.