Young love, we have all experienced it. Meeting someone for the first time and they make your heart flutter. Slowly getting to know them, the first disagreement and then the make up. All so innocent and sweet, maybe this old hardened New Yorker is getting soft, but Dash & Lily is a lovely TV series that makes you believe there is good in the world.
In November Netflix released this new series with relative little fanfare, but slowly word of mouth grew and the buzz was how everyone was enjoying this new series and it was a nice distraction from everything else that was going on in the world.
Dash & Lily is a charming series about the adventures of two young people as they slowly fall in love in New York City. There is something romantic about this new TV series on Netflix. Manhattan features heavily in the six episodes and it is equally as thrilling seeing these landmarks in the city.
There is something about this show that reminds me of the French film, Amelie, the slightly quirky, unique take on the world. Two distinct individuals play a literary game, writing in a journal and leaving it at landmarks around the city for them to discover. Something genuinely sweet and innocent about the whole concept and that is what keeps you watching each episode as the story slowly develops.
Written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Dash & Lily is based around the lives of two young people who slowly fall in love through writing. When we think of people falling in love it usually involves the internet or one of the many dating apps. You very rarely see a story where a couple meet through old fashioned writing and that actually has its appeal. Two young New Yorkers exchanging wit and revealing themselves through writing a little note to each other, it shows romance is not dead, especially not in the city that never sleeps.
Austin Abrams plays Dash, a young man, lost in the world. Trying to escape his divorced parents at Christmas, who hides out at his Father’s apartment while he is away traveling with new girlfriend.
Abrams as Dash plays a lost confused young adult very well. There is that angst and shyness that oozes through the screen. It is almost reminiscent of early youth and we are all trying to figure out where we fit into the world around us.
Midori Francis as Lily is sweet and engaging in her ongoing performance. At first, she does appear a little over the top. But the characterization grows on you, it is endearing and then you can’t help but fall for the nuances that make the performance so strong. Francis as Lily will remind you of someone in your life who is exactly the same, the love for the world around them, a positive force of nature who happens to adore Christmas.
Dash & Lily has struck a chord with so many viewers as it is just such an uplifting series. Given that there is so much negativity in the world at the moment. It is just nice to have a distraction that can remind you about all the fun that can be had in the world and what to look forward to once things return to normal.
Dash & Lily is currently available on Netflix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmW5GO6btMM