‘Daisy Jones & the Six’: What to Watch for Real-Life Band Drama
Daisy Jones & the Six is a documentary-style series that follows a 1970s band through their rise and implosion. While the show takes inspiration from a real band, the characters and their band are fictional. If you love the show and the on-screen band dynamics, here are documentaries that show real-life drama between bands.
Is ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’ about a real band?
In the new series, Daisy Jones joins the Six in the 1970s. While some elements of the story might feel familiar to viewers, the Six is a fictional band. It is, however, at least partly based on Fleetwood Mac. Taylor Jenkins Reid, the author of the book by the same title, said she frequently watched The Dance growing up, and she turned to the same footage while writing the book.
“[T]wo years ago, when I decided I wanted to write a book about rock ‘n’ roll, I kept coming back to that moment when Lindsey [Buckingham] watched Stevie [Nicks] sing ‘Landslide,'” she wrote for Hello Sunshine. “How it looked so much like two people in love. And yet, we’ll never truly know what lived between them. I wanted to write a story about that, about how the lines between real life and performance can get blurred, about how singing about old wounds might keep them fresh. Even after copious amounts of research about Fleetwood Mac and a host of other duos and bands, I’m still taken with that moment between them.”
Documentaries that show real-life band drama
There are several documentaries about Fleetwood Mac that fans of Daisy Jones & the Six can dive into. For a look into the complicated dynamics of other bands, there are other films to watch.
The 2003 documentary End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones follows the group from the 1970s inception to their breakup in 1996. The film documents their important impact on punk music, but also their challenges as a band. Not only did they struggle musically, but they also couldn’t stand one another. The film digs into the drugs, frustrations, and romantic betrayals that made up The Ramones.
The two-part documentary History of the Eagles was released in 2013, not long after the band’s 40th anniversary. The first part of the documentary tracks the band from their formation to their breakup and all the drama in between. The second part follows each member’s solo career, as well as the band’s reunion. The documentary — which does not shy away from the band’s history of physical altercations and firings — even caused drama. Guitarist Don Felder told Billboard that it “glorified” Don Henley and Glenn Frey while overlooking many other contributors to the band’s success.
How to watch ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’
If you haven’t already watched Daisy Jones & the Six, the 10-episode series is currently airing on Amazon Prime. The show’s first three episodes premiered on March 3, 2023, and the streaming service will drop two new episodes on Fridays leading up to the March 24 finale.
