• Photo Courtesy Of Brightlight Pictures
• BESTIES Tully (Katherine Heigl) and Kate (Sarah Chalke) are best friends helping each other navigate life's travails, in the Netflix original TV series Firefly Lane.

What's it rated? TV-MA

When? 2021

Where's it showing? Netflix

Sarah Chalke and Katherine Heigl play gal pals Kate and Tully, who met as teens when Tully moved to town and the two became instant friends, a friendship that has endured into their 40s. Tully is a wildly famous talk show star; Kate is an editor whose career has taken a backseat to motherhood. She's splitting with her husband, Johnny (Ben Lawson), who intends to head into a war zone as a correspondent; her 14-year-old daughter, Marah (Yael Yurman), can't stand her in that horribly cutting teenage way; and she's got a big gap on her resume.

Tully's life is in less chaos, but not for long. She perpetually drinks too much, sleeps around, and chases the youth she's inevitably losing. The Netflix series is based on a Kristen Hannah novel I haven't read, so I'm not sure how closely it ties to the storyline, but it follows the girls from their first days to their early career days and into their early 40s, told through various flashbacks.

There're ups and downs and drama throughout, but the two stick by each other through thick and thin—whether that continues has to wait for season 2. I will warn you that the second episode contains a depiction of a sexual assault against young Tully, something Netflix failed to mention beyond the TV-MA guidelines, and I've seen some well-warranted backlash for that. So go in with caution if that's a trigger for you! Otherwise, this is a sweet, sappy, but overall endearing tale of two friends navigating life. It's created by Maggie Friedman (Dawson's Creek, Witches of East End). (10 48- to 53-min. episodes) Δ