Firefly Lane, adapted from Kristin Hannah’s 2008 novel of the same title, follows the story of two best friends through different phases of their lives. Tallulah “Tully” Hart (Katherine Heigl) is a single, free-spirited adolescent turned talk show host and Kate Mularkey (Sarah Chalke) is a shy teen turned housewife attempting to get back to work after a fourteen-year hiatus to raise her daughter. Released on Feb 3, Firefly Lane displays the highs and lows of a thirty-year friendship—from meeting at the age of fourteen in the 1970s to college, young adult life in the 1980s and present-day 2003. The show jumps around through these different stages giving us a look inside the most real, gritty and intense parts of Tully and Kate’s lives.
Firefly Lane opens with a present-day Tully ( Katherine Heigl) reminiscing about her younger self, lying on a park bridge crying. We are then quickly transported to child Tully (London Robertson) being taken away from her grandmother’s home to live with her mother, Cloud (Beau Garrett), a drug-addicted and carefree hippie. Not long after that, Tully (Ali Skovbye) is now fourteen, and Cloud has arrived back in her life once again. Fortunately for her, this is where she meets Kate, the innocent nerdy neighbor (Roan Curtis) on no other than Firefly Lane.
From then on, the series takes the audience on a wild ride of friendship, heartache and betrayal. Ever since the two were young girls, they were inseparable, doing everything together; as they got older, both Kate and Tully promised each other they would become Journalists. They even go as far as going to the same college and getting jobs at the same news station. There Tully, achieves her goal of being an on-air journalist and Kate falls in love and marries her boss, Johnny Ryan (Ben Lawson).
The magic truly began when we met the two as teenagers—two opposites meeting and connecting instantly, almost as if it had been fate that brought them together. The chemistry between the two younger counterparts exhibits the youthful energy Netflix has lacked in many of their other series.
Firefly Lane even throws in earth-shattering secrets to shake their friendship. As the years go by, the hardships get more intense. For example, in the 2003 timeline Tully is hosting her talk show, “Girlfriend Hour,” an Ellen meets Oprah esc program, while Kate is off dealing with her teenage daughter, Marah (Yael Yurman.) Two completely different life paths, yet the two are spiritually connected. As Kate puts all her motivation into her work as a way to distract herself from her divorce from Johnny, she is blind to Marah acting out and skipping school. Unable to get through to her daughter, Tully takes Marah out to lunch to get to the bottom of the issue. Marah shares a secret with Tully, swearing her to secrecy.
The series continues to deal with the same underlying issues as it progresses, jam-packing enough scenes from each timeline in each episode to give the viewer a candid look inside the duo’s lives. Whether or not the melodramatic story of friendship is for you, the dynamic twosome isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Even though Netflix hasn’t officially ordered a second season, the cast has been dropping hints about what’s to come.
‘Firefly Lane ‘is available to stream on Netflix.