I hope you’ve got your hot chocolate, seasonal pyjamas and warm, baked goods ready for December, because I’m about to brighten up your Christmas with Netflix’s hidden gem: Dash & Lily.

            Based on the series of books by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Dash & Lily gives us the absolute best of New York in Winter, taking us to real locations such as The Strand bookstore, a peacefully empty Grand Central Station, and the quaint Two Boots Pizza shop where Dash’s best friend works. If, like me, you live vicariously through Christmas films set in New York, consider this your new favourite cosy Christmas show. Vibrant reds and greens that stand out beautifully in every scene, Christmas carollers in Washington Square Park, and even Christmas shopping mishaps in Macy’s – this limited series has everything you want from Christmas in New York, and it comes in the sweet package of a holiday romance between our main characters: Dash and Lily.

            Now don’t get confused – Dash & Lily isn’t like all the other holiday rom coms. Instead, it tells the story of heartbroken, cynical, Christmas-hating Dash, and the bubbly, sunny, Christmas-obsessed Lily, who attempts to make a connection with someone through a notebook she hides in between the stacks of The Strand. Dash stumbles across the notebook, and they begin their entanglement, communicating through messages and dares they write in the notebook and leave across New York for each other to find.

            The dares become more and more difficult as they each get to know each other, and through the notebook they continue to push each other out of their respective comfort zones. From stealing Santa’s hat at Macy’s to attending an underground Hannukah club night, Dash and Lily form an incredibly strong and sweet connection despite not yet having met face to face. Of course there are bumps along the road towards their perfect Christmas: Dash still hasn’t gotten over the ex who brutally dumped him last Winter, and Lily’s entire family have up and left her for the holiday season – and she’s terrified of putting herself out there.

            With Midori Francis as Lily, who you may know as Renee Rapp’s girlfriend in The Sex Lives of College Girls, and Austin Abrams as Dash – best known from his short-lived appearance as Kat’s love interest in Euphoria (quite a tonal shift) – the show’s two leads bring so much charm and humour to the screen. After rewatching the show for the third time this year, I can’t quite understand why these two incredibly endearing actors haven’t been cast in more projects since Dash & Lily.  

If anyone would like to sign my petition for Austin Abrams to do more rom coms, please let me know.

            Other standouts from the supporting cast include Dante Brown, whose role as the somewhat ‘comic-relief’ friend of Dash’s adds another perfect element of humour to the show – the way he riffs off of Dash’s pessimistic character, and his not-so-subtle attempts at matchmaking add yet another effortless charm. I also have to reference the short but sweet appearance of Michael Cyril Creighton (probably best known from his recurring role in Only Murders in the Building) as an irritated Macy’s elf… because that man was born to play a mildly annoyed shopping mall elf.

            This recommendation also wouldn’t be complete without highlighting how beautifully soundtracked Dash & Lily is. It includes so many of the best Christmas classics that it would be a crime for a New York Christmas TV show to exclude, but there are also so many beautiful, quieter moments in the show that feature ‘River’ by Joni Mitchell for example, one of the not-so-typically-Christmassy Christmas songs that is nostalgic, sad, and uplifting all at once. As one of Lily’s favourite Christmas songs, it has also become one of mine. ‘Stay’ by Gracie Abrams is a song that only ever reminds me of Dash & Lily now, and it is played in one of my absolute favourite scenes in the show’s final episode: I can’t help but smile whenever I hear it – yet another not-Christmas song that has since become a quintessential Christmas song for me. It also wouldn’t be right to talk about this soundtrack without mentioning The Jonas Brothers. If you can believe it, Nick Jonas is actually an executive producer on the show, and makes a cameo in the final episode when Dash and his friends find themselves in his trailer, along with the rest of the Jonas Brothers who are performing at Hudson Yards. They sing their song ‘Like its Christmas’, which, yes, may be considered a quite corny, very pop inspired Christmas song, but I promise it fits seamlessly into the show and is so on par with the warm, festive spirit of Dash & Lily, that I don’t even care how much it may seem like shameless self-promotion.

            So, look no further for your next watch to curl up by the fire with this December – make sure Dash & Lily on Netflix is on your (Christmas) list.

Image: Yura Forrat on Pexels