Although Netflix cancelled Dash & Lily after only one season, the eight episodes are definitely one of the best romantic teen comedies I've seen in a while (I actually thought it was a mini-series instead of a returning show.)
Austin Abrams plays Dash, a hostile teenager in NYC who is recovering from a bad breakup with his girlfriend. Dash really hates Christmas. Meanwhile Lily, adorably played by Midori Francis, is a quirky half-Asian teen who loves Christmas and yet has never been in love. Right before Christmas the two meet via Lily's notebook, which she leaves in a bookstore with a cryptic message that Dash finds and solves. This leads to a back and forth of truths and dares between the teens, conveyed by the notebook. As each goes through their trials and tribulations during the holidays, sometimes helped and sometimes hampered by their families and friends, they start to fall for each other.
I completely understood Dash, so I was on his side from the beginning, but I also appreciated Lily's courage. It's hard being the weird kid, I know from personal experience. I also liked the realistic cast that featured actors who were more interesting looking than beautiful (Dash has kind of a unibrow; Lily is full-figured.) It's always refreshing to me to see real people instead of Ken and Barbie doll people.
Some parts of the story were troubling -- most of what Lily's parents do in the series is pretty reprehensible to me, while Dash's dad is just a rich jerk -- and the lack of parental guidance is really astonishing (my mother in this situation really would have grounded me for the rest of my life.) Still, I liked the kids and how they worked out their problems by talking about them in the notebook. Also, while I dislike Christmas intensely, it wasn't all ho-ho-ho throughout the episodes. Definitely worth a watch; available on Netflix.
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