Firefly Lane

By Hap Haggerty, Content Coordinator

Based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Kristen Hannah, Firefly Lane is a  Netflix venture showing intimately how history repeats itself over the course of a lifelong friendship, The series follows the lives of Kate and Tully from the 70’s up until a few decades before end of the world. Firefly Lane reportedly garnered 50 million viewers and an estimated bazillion minutes of streaming within a month of its initial release. Two minutes into the first first episode, you’ll see why.

Both leading ladies elevate Firefly Lane above and beyond the standard Ben & Jerry’s Friday night couch fest. The talented, voluptuous Catherine Hagel helms the narrative in  the role of scrumptious bombshell celebrity journalist Tully Hart. Her best friend, less extroverted but over the top adorable Kate Mularkey,  is portrayed by the multi-faceted Sarah Chalk in what’s sure to be a career-defining performance. 

Superb make-up and aging effects, Firefly Lane bounces seamlessly from decade to decade, chronicling the beginning, end, and resurrection of a friendship so unrealistically genuine and syrupy sweet, you’ll want to call up every one of your estranged BFFs and beg for forgiveness.

Tully’s from a broken home on the wrong side of the tracks… just across the street from Kate’s house on Firefly Lane. The two are initially repulsed by each other but soon find common ground. Going to the same high school and university, they eventually become inseparable. Tully’s on-air journalist career soars, opening myriad coattail opportunities for Kate in production. On again-off again relationships take their toll, etc.

The writing is minimalist, but the depth of the characters and the scope of their experiences across time make for an endearing, humorous, and ultimately  heart wrenching story of two best friends. At the end of the last episode, it becomes clear that most, if not all, of the events in Firefly Lane probably happened in real life. If the book is better, it’s definitely intentional. 

You might ask why their middle class childhood homes look like they were built in the 1800s. Or how it turns out that everyone in Seattle is white (and gorgeous). Obnoxious references to cucumber cream cheese sandwiches and hot breakfast, forced mid-western lisp, and incessant teeth sucking (Chalke) could render some scenes unwatchable for misophoniac viewers.

Subtitles come in handy when the violin swells drown out the dialogue. But just as the corn-o-meter goes into the red,  Firefly Lane scores another heartwarming gush and we’re reminded why we’re already on the umpteenth re-watch.