Netflix’s Dash & Lily is a Christmas romance that refused to sit still. The 2020 series, created by Joe Tracz, is based on the young adult novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, and it arrives as an 8-episode stream of messages between two teenagers in New York City. The premise is simple: Dash (Austin Abrams) and Lily (Midori Francis) trade dares and confessions in a red notebook they pass back and forth across the city. The execution is anything but simple.
Trailer, via Rotten Tomatoes TV.
The Notebook That Runs the Show
The red notebook is the engine of Dash & Lily. It’s not a device; it’s the story itself. Every episode is a chapter, and every chapter is a note from one teen to another. The device is so effective that the show never has to speak its title — the notebook is always on screen, always in motion, always the thing that matters.
The messages are funny, honest, and occasionally heartbreaking. Dash is cynical and wounded, a loner who’s been hurt by love before. Lily is sunny and open, the kind of person who sees the best in everyone. The show lets these two opposites attract without softening either of them, and that tension is what makes the romance feel earned.
Abrams and Francis Carry the Weight
Austin Abrams plays Dash with a weary intelligence that keeps him interesting, even when his cynicism is meant to be the show’s villain. Midori Francis is the opposite — she’s the warmth, the laughter, the light that Dash needs to see. The two actors have a natural chemistry that makes the notebook trade feel less like a gimmick and more like a conversation between two people who are finally being honest with themselves.
Dante Brown plays Boomer, Dash’s best friend, and Troy Iwata plays Langston, Lily’s cousin. Both are given enough to do that their presence never feels like padding. The supporting cast, including Keana Marie, James Saito, and Jodi Long, rounds out the family drama without stealing focus from the central romance.
From Coffee Shops to City Streets
The show is a love letter to New York City, and it uses the city the way the notebook uses messages. Dash and Lily meet at a coffee shop, pass notes in a library, and walk through Central Park. The setting is less a backdrop and more a character in its own right. The city feels alive, and the show captures that energy without ever losing sight of the two people at its center.
The dares are a highlight. Some of them are silly — a dare to eat a hot dog from a street vendor, a dare to dance in the middle of a mall — but some of them are starkly personal. A dare to tell the truth about a past relationship. A dare to admit a fear. These dares are the show’s way of forcing Dash and Lily to open up, and they work because the show never makes the stakes feel small.
A Season That Knows When to End
Dash & Lily premiered on Netflix on November 10, 2020. It was canceled in October 2021 after one season. That cancellation is a shame, because the show ends on a note that feels complete. The final episode resolves the romance without resolving everything, and it trusts the audience to know that love is not a tidy ending but a process.
“I have to go now. But I’ll be back. That’s a promise.” — Dash to Lily, episode 8
That line, spoken by Abrams over an empty New York street, is the show’s thesis statement. The promise isn’t a guarantee. It’s a dare.
A Romantic Comedy That Earns Its Laughs
The show is a comedy, but it’s a comedy that understands sadness. Dash’s cynicism comes from a real place, and the show doesn’t treat it as a costume. Lily’s optimism is not a weakness. The two are not caricatures, and the show’s willingness to sit with uncomfortable truths is what separates it from other holiday romances.
The show also has a sharp eye for detail. A note in the notebook is read, then folded, then placed in a pocket. A subway ride is captured in a single long take. A conversation is interrupted by a phone call. These small moments accumulate into a larger sense of what it means to be alive in New York City in the winter.
A Score That Matches the Promise
Dash & Lily is a small show with a large heart. It’s a show about two people who find each other in the chaos of the city, and it never loses sight of what’s real about that finding. The notebook is a device, but it’s also a metaphor — the city is full of people, and the notebook is the thing that connects them.
The show is not perfect. Some of the supporting characters are underwritten, and the family drama occasionally feels like padding. But the central romance is strong, and the execution is confident. The show knows what it wants to be, and it delivers on that promise.
8 of 10.
Release Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| November 10, 2020 | Premiere on Netflix |
| October 2021 | Cancellation after one season |
The show is available to stream on Netflix, and it’s worth watching for anyone who wants a romance that feels both romantic and real. It’s a short season, but it’s a complete one. The notebook closes with a promise, and that promise is kept.
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