Now that we’ve watched both seasons of Firefly Lane on Netflix, we’re finally ready to revisit all that happened in the first season, from Kate and Tully’s friendship to their surprise falling out.
So, if you’re struggling to remember what happened in the first installment, keep reading for a recap of Firefly Lane season one, including all the major plot points and episode summaries.
The duo meet when Tully (Alissa Skovbye) and her mom, Cloud (Beau Garrett), move to Firefly Lane across the street from Kate (Roan Curtis). They immediately establish a friendship, even though they couldn’t be more different. Tully is loud, confident and often the center of attention. Kate is a bookworm, who tends to keep to herself. Together, they navigate their teenage years.
Tully doesn’t know her father (yet), and her mother’s parenting style is practically non-existent. As a result, she relies on Kate’s family for stability throughout her teenage years. In an attempt to hide her mother’s drug addiction, Tully often lies about their relationship. When Kate meets Cloud for the first time, the smell of marijuana is evident. So, Tully lies and says her mom has cancer (this eventually backfires). Over the years, Tully tries to establish a relationship with her mother and even gives her money once she has a career. However, her mom doesn’t put any effort into their bond. And during a flashback in the season one finale, Cloud is arrested for drug possession, and Tully is taken away to live with relatives.
When Tully (now played by Katherine Heigl) lands a job at a news station called KPOC, she's determined to get Kate (Sarah Chalke) a job, too. So, Tully ambushes her boss, Johnny (Ben Lawson), and demands he give Kate a chance, even though she has no prior experience. It works. This allows Kate and Tully to work together—Kate as a producer, and Tully as an up-and-coming reporter.
While reporting on a robbery during her first live TV broadcast, Tully is shot in the arm during a live broadcast. The injury is minimal, but the attention catapults her to stardom. After working as a reporter for KPOC, Tully eventually launches her own talk show, The Girlfriend Hour.
All is going well—that is, until Tully gets pregnant and marries her soon-to-be baby daddy, Max (Jon-Michael Ecker), right before having a miscarriage. She opens up about the loss on the show, and it puts a strain on her success. This forces her to hire a media bigwig, Wilson King (Martin Donovan), to take over distribution of the show. The problem? He has sexually harassed Tully in the past.
Kate develops a crush on her and Tully’s boss, Johnny. However, it isn’t love at first sight. In fact, Kate catches Tully and Johnny flirting on multiple occasions. They even sleep together during a drunken night out. It isn’t until Kate proves her worth as a producer that Johnny starts to see her in a romantic way.
In present-day, Kate is going through a divorce with Johnny. (Their complicated relationship is explored through flashbacks.) She and Johnny share a daughter, Marah (Yael Yurman), who’s navigating her teenage years. Rather than turn to her parents, Marah often confides in her godmother, Tully, who doesn’t respect Kate’s parenting style.
Kate and Johnny try to get back together multiple times, but the timing never works out. When Johnny leaves for a journalism assignment in Iraq, Kate realizes that she still loves him. During the season one finale, Johnny is walking through a minefield when he accidentally triggers a bomb. He’s thrown through the air and knocked unconscious, leaving viewers wondering what happens to him.
Throughout the season, Tully and Kate refer to a falling out they had. At one point, Tully makes a surprise appearance at Kate’s dad’s funeral. But she and Kate are at odds for an unknown reason that is explored in season two. “When I said I could never forgive you for what you did, what did you think that meant?” Kate says.
Young Tallulah (or “Tully”) is living with her grandmother after her mother, Cloud, proves multiple times that she’s not fit to raise a child. Years later, Cloud regains custody of Tully, and they move to Firefly Lane, where Tully befriends the neighbor, Kate, and lies about her mom’s drug addiction by claiming she has cancer.
Later on, Kate and Tully are adults and working at a news station as journalists. (This eventually leads to Tully launching a talk show, The Girlfriend Hour.) Kate develops a crush on their boss, Johnny. Years later, she reveals that she and Johnny are going through a divorce, and it’s taking a toll on their daughter, Marah.
Kate's brother, Sean, tells Tully that he's dating a man. Johnny reveals that he wants to return to his roots as a frontline reporter, and he’s leaving in two months for Iraq. Tully goes behind Kate's back and signs consent forms for Marah to get birth control, and Kate is furious.
In the past, Kate's mom confronts Tully about the cancer lie. In present-day, Tully is trying to pursue a relationship with a younger man, Max. Kate and Johnny are struggling to navigate their separation while parenting their daughter.
Kate is devastated to discover that her mother is cheating on her dad, and this guilt follows her into adulthood. After Kate surprises Johnny with lingerie, they decide to give their relationship one more chance. The episode ends with Kate and Marah getting ready to attend a funeral (more on this later).
Kate is upset when she learns that Tully lied about her mom having cancer, but they reconcile shortly after. Kate gives birth to Marah, and Tully realizes that their friendship is going to change as a result. Tully discovers that she’s pregnant, but she’s not ready to tell Max (at least not yet).
After a reporter is injured, Tully finally gets an opportunity to go on-air for the first time. When she tells Max about the pregnancy, he is overjoyed and introduces her to his family. This prompts Tully to lie about her own mother, saying that she passed away.
In the past, Kate is upset with Tully for sleeping with Johnny. (This happens while they're working at the news station, before Kate and Johnny started dating and got married.) When Kate is heading inside for the aforementioned funeral, she crosses paths with Tully and completely ignores her, hinting that they had a falling out.
Kate is preparing to attend the wedding of her brother, Sean, and his soon-to-be wife. (Kate still has no idea that he dated a man in the past.) When Max proposes to Tully, she's freaked out at first but eventually agrees to the engagement. She's so excited, they decide to have a spur-of-the-moment wedding. The episode ends with Tully having a miscarriage.
When Tully opens up about her miscarriage on The Girlfriend Hour, it backfires. She loses sponsors, and she's forced to hire a new distributor. Back at home, Tully tells Max that she doesn't want to be with him now that they're not having a child.
Cloud spots Kate's mom with another man, and she brings it up during Christmastime. It doesn't take long for Kate's dad to realize that he's being cheated on. In present-day, Sean comes out to his wife, and he gets kicked out of the house as a result. The night before Johnny leaves for Iraq, he and Kate make up and confess their feelings for each other. While on the job, he accidentally sets off a bomb, which knocks him unconscious. Back at the funeral, Kate confirms that she’s no longer friends with Tully. “I never want to see you again,” she says.
