Netflix Review- Firefly Lane

Firefly Lane, which debuted on Netflix on Wednesday February 3rd, begins with two girls growing up in the 1970’s, flashing ahead to 2003 where the same girls have grown into just who they were supposed to be, Tully (Tullulah) Hart—played by Katherine Heigl— a pretty girl turned- journalist- turned famous talk show host, and Kate Malarky—played by Sarah Chalke— nice girl- turned producer- turned single mother. Tully is the typical pretty friend that everything works out for. The type of friend who overshadows the more shy friend; who unintentionally steals the boy you’re crushing on, who gets the job you so badly want, but inside, is just as insecure as everyone else.

The series flashes back and forth between 1974 where they are teenagers, 2003, and 1982 when Kate and Tully are working together at a small news network. Although there are many important people in their lives, they have a bond that can never been separated. Their childhoods were different, as well as their personalities, but they lean on each other, and from the beginning of their friendship, it is obvious that even though Kate looks like she is the troubled one who needs Tully, it isn’t until episode 3 that it becomes obvious that Tully needs Kate a lot more.

The series brings up the topic of not only friendship and its highs and lows, but how parenting. or lack thereof, can mold a child. For most of Tully’s childhood, her mother is not present, and if she is there physically, she may not be there mentally. Tully’s mother is someone who struggles with substance addiction, and in 1974 when Kate’s mother learns of this, she shares how her father was an abusive alcoholic. Tully responds to Kate’s mother’s telling of her sister who became like her father, “because she didn’t want people to look at her like she was pitiful”, reminding the audience of when she went with an older boy to a party, got drunk, and was sexually assaulted, which has mentally scarred her. Kate’s mother encourages her to be “the next Jean Enersen…Seattle’s first female (news) anchor“, which clearly sticks with her. In this scene, Kate’s mother acts like her mother, and it molds her for the rest of her life.

Anything Kate and Tully go through, they go through together. They attend the same college, work at the same job, and move to the same city. The show begins as a life imitates art type, where the women are chasing their dreams together, where nothing can stop them, but it slowly molds itself into a quite emotionally realistic series of events for the two main characters. The show, like any Katherine Heigl movie, is filled with cheesy romance and heartbreak, but it also includes topics that are not normally discussed is pop culture like sexual assault, sexism and inequality in the workplace, miscarriages, and the imperfections of every relationship, platonic or romantic.

There were many aspects of the show that were downright bad, such as special effects, and the acting was not exactly Emmy- worthy, but one of my favourite things was the soundtrack. It featured many songs from the 1970s and 1980s, as a lot of the plot takes place then. Artists like Elton John, The Hollies, Patsy Cline, Duran Duran, Velvet Underground, Donna Summer, and so much more.

The drama- filled series had many emotional scenes, including the finale, which left the audience with a cliff-hanger and definitely pulled many people in to want a second season, and although not yet confirmed, it is inferred because of the cliff- hanger that left the audience wondering what is going to happen next.