Netflix has infamously had some great shows that only lasted for a single season. They were canceled too soon. These TV shows deserved more time to develop and find their audiences. Dash & Lily is one of them. It follows two teens whose only form of communication is a red notebook. Dash (Austin Abrams) and Lily (Midori Francis) end up challenging one another while falling in love. Their limited interactions lead to a profound connection.
It was perfect Netflix Christmas programming. I immediately found myself charmed by Dash & Lily, and consider it one of Netflix’s best teen romantic TV series. Therefore, I took its cancellation hard. Because I missed it so much, I decided to read the Dash & Lily book series.
I sped through the first two books, however, the second one was a bit disappointing so I delayed reading the final book. And then this winter, I decided to finally conclude this Rachel Cohn and David Levithan book series.
I ended up deeply missing the former Netflix dramedy and wishing I saw several things happen in it.
Warning Dash & Lily book series and TV show spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.
Dash and Lily’s Relationship Struggles
Dash & Lily Season 1 ends with so many lingering questions. The main one was about the future of their relationship. Most of the series follows Dash and Lily as they grow and develop while communicating through limited resources. They have minimum face-to-face interactions. Therefore, their relationship works on paper, but what happens when it faces the challenges of the real world? The second and third books in the Dash & Lily series address this problem.
Their relationship faces plenty of angst, including something many teens face: college life. They end up taking different paths. Dash moves across the pond, while Lily stays in New York. We read how they navigate that big hurdle of distance, plus these two books have plenty of other drama.
Midori Francis and Austin Abrams had a lot of chemistry in their few interactions, so it would have been nice to see that carry over with their characters as a couple in future Dash & Lily seasons. We could have had more romantic moments similar to the best romantic comedies, along with some relationship growing pains. There are plenty of them in the book series.
Their London Adventures
Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily takes place in London. As a book lover, Dash has romanticized London and decided to attend Oxford. Lily stays in New York and takes a gap year. She plans to attend college in New York later. However, Oxford isn’t what Dash thought it would be, and he is not enjoying his college experience. Lily misses Dash and decides to surprise him on Christmas with a visit.
They then spend most of the book together in London. Their romantic reunion doesn’t go as planned, but there is an abundance of moments that highlight the city and Europe in general. With the success of shows like Emily in Paris, a London season of Dash & Lily could have been real fun, especially if Netflix used it as an opportunity to set up an epic crossover episode, similar to what Netflix has done in the past. This could have worked for Dash & Lily and any of their European set series, or even with some characters from other shows who could be visiting London as well. Imagine Dash and Lily meeting Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) from Heartstopper.
There was so much potential with the final season of Dash & Lily happening in London. Not just from what happens in the novel, but with Netflix’s relationship to the city, and potential ways to incorporate it and expand their universes’ connections. It could have been very cute to see Dash and Lily in London exploring it and falling more in love with each other.
Lily Becoming A Dog Influencer
During Lily’s gap year, she becomes a very popular dog influencer. She makes a lot of money walking dogs and selling dog-related items. Lily becomes so successful that she considers moving to London to go to school there, all in pursuit of her dog-influencer-related career. Of course, her family doesn’t like this plan. However, the final book showcases Lily’s love for animals. It also shows how much she understands them.
This helps her find her career path. Dog influencer is not something you see on many television shows. Therefore, I would have loved to see such a fun career path make its way to Dash & Lily. Lily also finds herself having plenty of animal adventures in Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily. I can just imagine how entertaining that would have been to see on the Netflix show.
Dash And Lily's Tribute To Books
The love of books has always been part of Dash & Lily’s essence and fabric. Books are important in the book series and the TV show. Therefore, I would have loved to see that explored in other seasons. There aren’t enough TV shows about book lovers, especially teen book lovers, so this could have been an element that the show emphasizes.
It could have also paired nicely with the former Netflix Book Club. It could have highlighted books featured in the TV series, and maybe selected at least one of them as a book of the month. Netflix seems to no longer have a book club, but if Dash & Lily naturally got to play out over three seasons (from 2020-2022), it could have helped this concept. Netflix’s book club seems to have existed at least until November 2023, so that works with Dash & Lily’s could-have-been lifespan.
Additionally, Netflix still has a book club hub that highlights some of its original series that have been adapted from books. Dash & Lily could have continued to highlight the love of books and reading while working with Netflix’s existing book club to promote literature.
Sofia And Boomer’s Relationship Progression
A major shock and unanswered question at the end of Dash & Lily Season 1 was the Sofia (Keana Marie) and Boomer (Dante Brown) relationship. There are signs throughout the season of their romantic connection, but it was still a shock to many when they’re seen holding hands in the finale. Boomer and Sofia fans will be happy to learn that they’re still happily in love in the final Dash & Lily book.
This makes them a very strong couple that I would have loved to see more of in future Dash and Lily seasons. Boomer and Sofia acknowledge their differences but seem to work well together, similar to Dash and Lily.
The Dash and Lily Netflix Series Could Have Become A Christmas Tradition
Netflix has plenty of great Christmas movies that it releases every year. It doesn’t need to add a holiday tradition with a Christmas TV show. However, I want it. I wanted to see Dash and Lily have three seasons that aired every holiday season.
It could have been something to look forward to for a few years. The books are so full of seasonal cheer that I loved reading all three close or during the Christmas season. It helped get me more excited for the holidays. The show could have offered the same sense of warmth and comfort.
Dash & Lily is one of Netflix’s canceled series that I am still mad never got more time. I’ll always think of what could have been, but I am glad I read the series to fill in some of those gaps.
Stream Dash & Lily on Netflix.
Buy Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan on Amazon.
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