Vrinda Bachchan
‘Dash & Lily’ is a Netflix romantic drama series about teenagers Dash and Lily, both with opposing views regarding Christmas and the holiday season. They fall in love even before meeting, by writing to each other in a notebook that they trade between them. The heart-warming series stars Austin Abrams and Midori Francis in the titular roles and is set in a festive New York City in the days leading up to Christmas.
With the sweet escapism that ‘Dash & Lily’ offers, it’s not surprising that the series has garnered a mostly favorable response from audiences and critics alike. If you’ve ever been to NYC during the end-of-year holiday season, you’ll know how magical it looks, and ‘Dash & Lily’ will make you nostalgic for the cheer and buoyancy of Christmas time. But is the story of Dash and Lily rooted in reality? Let’s find out!
Is Dash & Lily Based on a True Story?
No, ‘Dash & Lily’ is not based on a true story. What it is based on is, in fact, the bestselling novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan – ‘Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares.’ The book the show is adapted from is part of a Christmas-themed YA trilogy and is a work of pure fiction set in real locations. Dash is a Christmas-hating 17-year-old who fancies himself as a loner. At the same time, Lily is a cheerful and optimistic girl tired of spending her favorite holiday without a romantic partner.
So Lily leaves a notebook with some clues inside her favorite bookstore – The Strand – in hopes that a fellow bookish boy will pick it up and respond, providing her with a potential boyfriend. Now Dash and Lily are poles apart, personality-wise, but the adage “opposites attract” is proven true when these two begin interacting through the notebook and find themselves falling in love as they get to know each other better by assigning and completing dares and sharing their thoughts, dreams, and hopes.
Like all good teenage romances, there is some fluff drama and just the right amount of angst in ‘Dash & Lily,’ but it’s dealt with swiftly, keeping in line with the show’s brisk pace. Mainly, trouble arises when both Dash and Lily realize that their relationship is based on a person they’ve each built up inside their heads. Neither of them has accounted for the flaws that every person comes with, so both are disappointed when confronted with each other’s genuine shortcomings.
Dash’s general disregard for other people’s feelings and Lily’s lack of self-worth cause problems in their relationship. And while the show is not based on any true story, these issues that Dash and Lily deal with are very real and something that most people will definitely relate to.
Read More: Where is Dash & Lily Filmed?
