An introductory description for the Netflix series “Dash & Lily.”
Dash and Lily takes place in New York City. But not just any New York City: Christmastime New York City. This is a place of vivid color, bustling crowds, and omnipresent caroling. There’s a sense of energy permeating the city, and the show includes all the texture and color that you might expect from a big-city Christmastime romance.
The story begins in The Strand, an iconic bookstore in Manhattan. The Strand is situated just south of Union Square, below 14th Street in the heart of Downtown. The bookstore’s motto is “eighteen miles of books and counting.” When you enter the Strand, it opens into a cavernous main space, with tables of highlighted book genres dotting the weathered hardwood floors. The shelves lining the perimeter of the space tower over patrons, maybe ten feet high, and they’re crammed with books of all shapes and sizes. (At one point, Dash must support himself between two high shelves to reach a book on the very top!)
Dash and Lily, the leading characters, live in contrasting worlds. Dash’s father’s apartment, where he intends to spend Christmas, is a high-end bachelor pad straight out of a magazine. It’s a penthouse suite, with huge windows and sleek, pristine furniture. It’s beautiful, but cold. The open plan living space includes a massive living room, and a chef’s kitchen, separated by an island. The cabinets in the kitchen are painted slate-blue, with gleaming chrome and stainless fixtures, and perfectly polished stone countertops. The centerpiece of the living room is a huge, circular couch, split in half. It’s made of a luxurious midnight-blue fabric, perhaps velvet. Blue and silver tones dominate this place, which feels aspirational but not lived-in at all - straight out of a catalog page. He’s a tallish, slim young white man with shaggy, sandy-blond hair, blue eyes, and a prominent Adam’s apple. He dresses expensively, but with muted colors, and often has stooped shoulders and his hands shoved into his pockets. His favorite peacoat is a classic navy double-breasted model, probably with the anchors on the buttons...you know the one. He wears fisherman sweaters, turtlenecks, and other borderline-fusty items that wouldn’t be out of place on someone closer to the age of his grandfather.
Lily, on the other hand, lives with her mom, dad, brother, and grandpa in Grandpa’s apartment downtown. It’s a walkup, full of bright colors and cozy details, like a bookshelf full of knickknacks, and houseplants in every nook and cranny. Lily’s room is small, but with high ceilings. She has pink-patterned wallpaper and wall-mounted bookshelves high above her bed. More books line a mantel above a non-working fireplace, which is also - you guessed it - stuffed with books. Lily herself mirrors her surroundings. She’s a slight, fair-skinned young woman with dark, wavy hair that skims her shoulders, dark almond-shaped eyes, and Cupids-bow lips. Lily seems to bounce everywhere. She favors bright colors, and isn’t afraid to mix patterns and fabrics, like patterned knits, patchwork, and denim. She wears her signature red Converse sneakers almost all the time - when she’s not wearing another prominent pair of red footwear. Lily’s features speak to her mixed heritage. Her mother and grandfather are of Japanese descent, and her father is white. Lily’s brother Langston strongly resembles her, with fair skin, and dark hair and eyes, although he is significantly taller.
A lot of important action also happens at Two Boots to Go West, locally known as Two Boots: a beloved Manhattan micro-chain of pizza shops with quirky specialty pies named after actors, movies, and cult icons. The East Village location did actually have a movie-rental section on a red shelf, as is seen here in the show (though alas, no longer). Dash’s best friend Boomer works the counter at Two Boots. Boomer is a bubbly young Black man with cropped hair, expressive features, and a penchant for 90’s style fashion, like oversized, bold-pattern t-shirts. He has a megawatt smile, and seems to be radiating positive energy at all times.
Dash’s circle of friends also includes his ex, Sophie, a slender, sophisticated white girl with brown hair. Sophie exudes confidence, calm, and class; one gets the sense that she’s rarely, truly out of control. Sophie and Dash’s mutual friend Priya is a young South Asian woman with long, wavy black hair, large brown eyes, and a bold sense of style; let’s call it Kardashian-adjacent. Faux-fur jackets, jaunty berets, and bodycon dresses are Priya’s cup of proverbial tea.
Lily’s circle of friends skews older, though no less colorful. Her caroler friends are a diverse group - an older black man, a mixed-race transfemme person, a Puerto Rican woman, a Filipina woman, and a Latino man. We don’t get to know all of them, but the import of seeing Lily with a group of adults representing such a cross-section of city dwellers can’t be overlooked - just another day in the city. Lily’s beloved grandfather Arthur defaults to a serious demeanor, but is generally good-natured. He dresses like a classic grandpa - trousers, windbreaker, and flat-cap. He has thick, salt-and-pepper hair and a weathered face with dark eyes and a thin mouth - but plenty of smile lines. His sister, Lily’s great-aunt, “Mrs Basil E,” is the pinnacle of wealthy Bohemian elegance. A tall, thin, woman with dark hair and fine features, also of Japanese descent, Mrs Basil E seems to glide everywhere. She’s never seen without her red lipstick on, and her dark hair fashioned into a graceful bun. Even her houseclothes are elegant - flowing silk, muted sequins, and long necklaces with dangling pendants. And Lily’s surprising companion Edgar is a happy-go-lucky, unselfconsciously handsome white guy. He’s always wearing a crooked smile and maybe a shearling coat. One might unkindly describe him as a “basic bro,” though he genuinely seems to enjoy himself pretty much all of the time, in an unassuming, everything’s-dandy sort of way.
Overall, the tone of the city scenes are bright-lights-at-night, candy colors, breath fogging in the air, and bustling streets. Take a deep breath, imagine the cold air in your nostrils and the traffic whooshing by - and you’re ready to join Dash and Lily on their adventure.