Firefly Lane, starring Katherine Heigl, is a different kind of love story that focuses on the bonds between women. It chronicles the ups and downs of friendships stretched over multiple decades. This 10-episode series on Netflix gives soft and subtle nods to the long-term impact of underlying issues of mental illness, addiction, and sexual abuse. Based on the best-seller by Bainbridge Island author Kristin Hannah, Firefly Lane is set in Snohomish and Seattle (Washington State) and was shot in Vancouver, B.C. (Because most films “based in Seattle” are filmed up in our neighboring country to the north for cost-saving reasons)
Let me set up the plot for you as quickly as possible. The story starts with two young girls around 14 in the 1980s. Tully, played by Heigl, and Kate, played by Sarah Chalke, support each other through good times and bad with an unbreakable bond that carries them from their teenage years to their forties. Tully is the pretty and popular girl who moves next door to Kate, the awkward, good girl who wears nerdy eyeglasses that cover her entire face.
We Need to Talk About Young Kate’s Ridiculously Oversized, Ill-Fitting Glasses (Watch Video)
Let’s pause for a moment and talk about these glasses. It’s a time-honored Hollywood tradition: The fastest way to turn a hottie into a nottie is by saddling them with a clunky pair of spectacles. Check out the full article here from TV Line that talks about these glasses and even includes a video! Seriously, if I still played drinking games, I would be blacked-out drunk if I took a shot every time Kate pushed up these ginormous specs that are constantly sliding down her slender face.
Tully – More than just a pretty face
Regardless of her looks, life hasn’t always been easy for Tully. Her oh-so-hippy mother, who calls herself Cloud, played by Beau Garrett, is about as unstable as a mother could be. Throughout most of the episodes, when we do see Cloud, she’s usually high, drunk, or recovering from being high and drunk. She also has very questionable taste in men.
Honestly, I’m not a Katherine Heigl fan. Plus, she needs to stick to being a blonde, in my opinion. Brunette just really isn’t that great of a look on her. (It’s not a great look on me either) However, the details of this storyline spoke all of my love languages. The film is based in Seattle, a city I love deeply. Over the three decades that each episode bounces around, it depicts what life is like in the Seattle media world of television and magazines. Since moving from my small hometown of Centralia to Seattle in 2005, I have worked for the Seattle Times, Seattle Met magazine, and following that, I worked at KING 5 NBC for nearly six years. So naturally, I devoured this series…in like a day because I have literally no willpower.
Spoiler alert!
Life working at a TV station and city magazine is not exactly as this show portrays. However, I will say that the office of “Seattle Digest”, the city magazine Kate goes to work at in her forties, did look pretty similar in style to the magazine office I worked at for nearly a decade. And the villainy editor girl boss that drives Kate crazy? Yep, that was somewhat familiar, too.
These weren’t the only details of the show I could strongly identify with. It was easy for me to identify with Cloud, the absent mother, although I’d like to think I wasn’t quite that bad at parenting. I also felt like I was a solid Tully-Kate hybrid. Sadly, there’s a traumatic scene that happened to Tully in high school that I identified with as well. And this isn’t where the similarities ended.
Later in the series, Kate goes to karaoke with a new love interest after being separated from her husband. My go-to karaoke song is “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. Kate’s date sings this song first. But then it got even weirder…Kate decides to let loose as she karaoke’s to “I Get Knocked Down” by Chumbawamba. This is the theme song of my life. WHAT IS HAPPENING? Why does this pretty basic series have all of my life details?!?!?!?!? Does this mean I’m basic? LOL
Will you love this show?
Honestly? Maybe not. I think I only loved it because so many of the storyline details were incredibly similar to my own life. The acting isn’t that great, and the storyline isn’t that great. But somehow, I still liked it. If you love reading a mindless rom-com book, you will probably enjoy watching this mindless rom-com movie. If you do watch it, let me know what you think! I’d love to know what details you related to.
The Mindful Binge Sobees Score: 4 out of 5
My co-workers are cooler than your co-workers.
Just kidding. Felt cute, might delete later. However, I had cool co-workers at the mighty KING. In the video below, you will see my former co-worker and friend Kim Holcomb’s Zoom interview with Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke and chat candidly about this series.
Another cool thing about this series is how Tully frequently mentions that she aspires to be the next “Jean Enersen.” Jean is an American journalist who worked for 48 years at KING-TV in Seattle. As an anchor for 42 years, she was the country’s first and longest-standing local female anchor. While Jean retired a year or two before I started working at KING, I grew up watching her on local TV, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with her a handful of times. She’s just as incredible as depicted and truly deserves to be appreciated as the icon she is.
My big question is, where was Jean’s cameo appearance in this series? Seriously, why didn’t the producers of this series, who clearly did their research, include this in the storyline? Dear Netflix, if there is a Season Two, and I don’t know why there would be, I vote for a Jean Enersen cameo appearance. Please and thank you.
Because it’s movie night and the feelings right, it’s movie night! Since you’re not binging on alcohol and drugs anymore, you’re going to need other activities to fill your time. Especially considering we are in the middle of a global pandemic. Get your binge on with movies and TV series that The Sober Curator recommends.
Pop the popcorn, make your favorite mocktail or alcohol-free bevies, grab your favorite treats and sweets, and settle in for some good old-fashioned cinema entertainment.
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