Photo: Prime Video
A member of the band is noticeably absent from the show.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Mar 02, 2023
Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid's bestselling novel 'Daisy Jones & The Six' have been waiting eagerly for the live adaption.
The limited miniseries, which debuts on Amazon Prime on March 3, follows the plot of Reid's novel, which centers on the rise and fall of a fictional '70s rock band, and their enigmatic lead singer, Daisy Jones.
However, fans have noticed that Pete Loving, a character from the novel and the sixth member of 'The Six' is noticeably absent from the adaptation.
Why is Pete Loving not in the 'Daisy Jones & The Six' show?
Reid, who released the novel in March 2019, told viewers in an Instagram Story post that Pete's character being axed from the show would be explained.
"I just want to say don’t worry about why it’s called Daisy Jones and The Six when there’s no Pete. There’s a great answer and just know you’re in good hands."
In the book, the band, which originally goes by the Dunne Brothers, changes its name to the Six to better reflect the band’s members.
The group, though led by frontman Billy Dunne, and his brother, Graham, also includes keyboardist Karen Sirko, drummer Warren Rhodes, bassist Pete Loving, and his brother, Eddie Loving.
In the 'Daisy Jones & The Six' show, Camila Dunne is the unofficial sixth band member instead of Pete Loving.
In a TikTok video, Hope, who covers entertainment and pop culture on her account, gave a review of the show and revealed how it was explained that the band only had five members.
"The question I was probably asked the most was why is Pete not involved, why are there not six members of The Six," Hope began, adding that the show never really explains why.
She continued, saying that in the show, Billy's girlfriend-turned-wife, Camila Dunne, chooses to leave their hometown in Pittsburgh to join the band in California.
Whereas in the book, Camila stays behind while the band goes off to Los Angeles to make their first album.
"Camila goes to California with the Dunne brothers, and she's the unofficial sixth member," Hope shared.
Creators of the 'Daisy Jones & The Six' adaptation say cutting Pete from the show was 'necessary' for the story to evolve.
In an interview with TIME, the showrunner and writer for 'Daisy Jones & The Six,' explained that it was a difficult but "necessary" decision to remove Pete from the adaptation.
"The Pete character serves a function in the novel, but he doesn’t have much to say, he’s not the most dramatic. We knew if we were going to cast Pete, the actor might want more to do.
"It felt like eliminating Pete enabled us to do more with the characters that we had in the ensemble, which was already a pretty big group of people."
Neustadter added that by removing Pete's character, he hopes book fans are still excited to see the show.
"I hope everyone, especially the Pete stans, forgive us after they watch the show.”
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.