Stranger Things meets Manifest in the new French fantasy television series coming to Disney+ on March 23rd: Parallels.
Sam, Bilal, Romane and Victor, four childhood friends, are leading a typical, tranquil existence in a peaceful village in the mountains. However, while celebrating Bilal’s birthday, a mysterious event occurs which turns their worlds upside down.
In a split second, the universe discards its rules and reshuffles everything: the present, the future and multiverses merge, separating the teens and sending them into parallel worlds in different time frames. They set about trying to understand what happened and strive to find each other. They hope to turn the clocks back and return to the world they used to live in. Facing their potential destinies, they will have the opportunity to grow up and see things in a new way. This also goes for their parents, as well as Lieutenant Retz who deals with the most extraordinary scientific investigation of his career to date.
Parallels is an exciting adventure story with a science fiction twist. It is reminiscent of many time-travel film and television series before it. I mentioned Stranger Things and Manifest, and it also contains similar science (and conscience i.e. “going back to make things right”) facets as those encountered in Back to the Future. I watched six screener episodes for review prior to the official release date and, while not groundbreaking viewing, I enjoyed this easy-watching new series.
Sam, Bilal, Romane and Victor have a similar dynamic to Mike, Dustin, Nancy and Will in Stranger Things: four friends, all with different personalities, talents and temperaments but with a close relationship. They bask in each other’s company while the mundane and more complicated life stuff goes on at home in each of their families. The curious occurrences originating from the local science branch/power plant-type building also reminded me of earlier seasons of ST. In one version of the universe in Parallels, a young Sam deals with the return of older versions of his friends who appear to have extraordinary abilities. This situation played out like a teen version of the main characters’ return in Manifest, where, unbeknownst to the passengers, their plane mysteriously goes missing and when they arrive at their destination time has skipped ahead five years and they, too, have enhanced capabilities.
The home life of each of the characters is varied and adds intrigue. Bilal’s mom (played by Naidra Ayadi) plays a significant role and is a very likable and driven character. Navigating family issues while trying to make sense of the disappearances gives many of the characters – even supporting characters – relatable depth and will have viewers further invested in the story.
The idea that there are always downsides to whichever version of “reality” the characters want to pursue is an important underlying theme that I enjoyed revisiting. I say ‘revisit’ because it reminded me of the 2004 film, Butterfly Effect (I know – this show really did jigsaw into a lot of other shows and films for me!). This builds on the notion that you can’t always get what you want and there is no utopia, even if you tamper with time. In Parallels, these themes dovetail nicely with family expectations as characters grapple with perception versus reality. For example, Victor as the black sheep of the family thinks his parents do not care that he disappeared, but he does not see his parents’ trauma and how they are, in fact, struggling without him. Romane’s mother has given her stepfather another chance at their life together after he gambled their money away, though old habits die hard and Romane is forced to address this, specifically as it relates to the care and custody of her younger sister.
While Parallels does not really showcase anything new, it is a decent time travel/multiverse story with appealing characters. The pace of the show is excellent and with episodes running just over 30 minutes long, it is easy watching. It is also suitable for family viewing if you think this is something the young and old of your household might enjoy.
Parallels will premiere on Disney+ on March 23rd, 2022.
Still not sure whether Parallels is for you? Check out the trailer below.