Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine is behind hit book-to-screen adaptations like Where the Crawdads Sing, Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere. So, when it was announced that Taylor Jenkins Reid’s smash-hit novel Daisy Jones and the Six was getting the TV treatment it seemed like the actress’ company was the perfect fit. Turns out, Lauren Neustadter, who runs Hello Sunshine's film and TV division, thought so too, because after reading the manuscript, she literally interrupted Witherspoon’s vacation because she wanted the rights to the book so badly.
Lauren Neustadter got early access to Daisy Jones and Six because her husband and screenwriter, Scott Neustadter was asked by Reid’s manager to take a look at it. When he passed the manuscript along to his significant other she knew she needed to get it to Witherspoon as soon as possible, hence the interruption on vacation. Scott noted that the Legally Blonde actress adored Stevie Nicks, and said he knew she’d love this book. Then Lauren sent it to her boss while she was on vacation, recalling the story to NYT, saying she wrote Witherspoon:
I need you to bring your iPad to the beach tomorrow morning, because this book is so good, and it’s going to be so competitive.
It only took Witherspoon one day to read the book, she responded to Lauren, saying:
I’m obsessed.
And so began Daisy Jones and the Six’s journey to the small screen.
After the vacation interruption, Lauren took Reid for lunch and got Witherspoon on the phone. The actress sang her praises for the book, and then Scott took the author out again to explain why he was the perfect person to write the series.
After that, the plan was fully in motion. Reid sold her manuscript for Daisy Jones and the Six to Penguin Random House, and Hello Sunshine was set to adapt the book into a series. Amazon bought the show in July 2018, and the book finally came out in March 2019. It was part of Witherspoon’s book club right when it came out, and has been a New York Times bestseller for more than 100 weeks (that’s right it’s still on that list).
Now, the series is one of the highly anticipated entries on the 2023 TV schedule, and Witherspoon has been loud and proud about her love for it, writing on Instagram:
[Daisy Jones and the Six] IS THE MOMENT 💫🎸🤘🏼🎶 Get ready to be obsessed!!!
Thank goodness Lauren interrupted her co-producer’s vacation because it seems like they have a hit on their hands.
Over the last few years, Witherspoon has been promoting the various book-to-screen adaptations she’s involved with. She reached out to fans when Where the Crawdads Sing dominated Netflix’s trending list, and she’s constantly promoting the books she’s reading on Instagram as well as other projects Hello Sunshine is behind, like the sweet rom-com Your Place or Mine. Based on her track record, and the excitement surrounding The Six, I’m positive she’s ecstatic for the premiere and for fans to finally see the series. I also bet she’s pretty happy her vacation was interrupted so she could read Taylor Jenkins Reid’s book.
You will be able to stream Daisy Jones and the Six with an Amazon Prime subscription starting March 3, and in the meantime, you can read the novel that inspired the series or least read all about the new Reese Witherspoon shows and movies in the works.
