{ "id": "eparpp3aq0", "slug": "parallels", "title": "Parallels", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres", "label": "Genre and subject-scripted series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres.science_fiction_series", "label": "Science fiction television series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres.science_fiction_series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres.science_fiction_series.time-travel-and-parallel-worlds-series", "label": "Time travel and parallel worlds series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres.science_fiction_series.time-travel-and-parallel-worlds-series" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres", "label": "Western Europe · 2021 and later: Genre and subject-scripted series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021", "label": "Western Europe · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres", "label": "Genre and subject-scripted series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Parallels (Para//èles) is a 2022 French Disney+ original sci-fi mystery series created by Quoc Dang Tran: six episodes in which four teenage friends are scattered into parallel dimensions by a collider-related event.", "snippet": "Parallels (Para//èles) is a 2022 French Disney+ original sci-fi mystery series created by Quoc Dang Tran: six episodes in which four teenage friends are scattered into parallel dimensions by a collider-related event.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_genres.science_fiction_series.time-travel-and-parallel-worlds-series", "markdown": "# Parallels\n\n**Parallels** (French: *Para//èles*) is a French science-fiction mystery series for the streaming service Disney+, created by Quoc Dang Tran, in which four teenage friends are separated by a mysterious event and thrown into parallel dimensions and different time frames. All six episodes were released on March 23, 2022, in France and across Disney+ markets worldwide.[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) • [2](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/new_paralleles_factsheet_en_c3566617.pdf)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | *Para//èles* (French); English title \"Parallels\"[3](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Parallels__280260.html) |\n| Format | Scripted series, 6 episodes, all released at once on March 23, 2022[2](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/new_paralleles_factsheet_en_c3566617.pdf) |\n| Creator | Quoc Dang Tran (*[Marianne](https://www.edgepedia.org/marianne-2019-tv-series)*, *Nox*, *Call My Agent!*), co-written with Anastasia Heinzl[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) |\n| Directors | Benjamin Rocher and Jean-Baptiste Saurel[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) |\n| Production companies | Empreinte Digitale (Raphaël Rocher, Eric Laroche) and Daïmôn Films (Quoc Dang Tran)[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) |\n| Filming | 25 January to 15 May 2021, in France[3](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Parallels__280260.html) |\n| Reception | 85% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (3 reviews); 7.0/10 on IMDb[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/paralleles/s01) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/parallels) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nThe series follows four friends, Bilal, Romane, Samuel, and Victor, whose lives are upended when a mysterious event separates them and propels them into parallel dimensions. They do everything they can to understand what happened and try to return to their world \"before\".[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) Disney+ describes the event as a moment in which \"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.\"[6](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-dz/browse/entity-b4286cdc-1bac-439c-9594-5ee6695b98a7)\n\nThe trigger is tied to physics research near the characters' home. The episode guide describes a supercollider accident that mixes the teenagers with their future selves,[7](https://epguides.com/Parallels/) and [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) summarizes the show as the story of four teenage friends on the French-Swiss border whose lives are upended by an experiment of the LHC, the world's biggest particle collider.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/parallels) The story is set in a village in a mountain valley near the French-Swiss border.[8](https://www.cineserie.com/news/series/paralleles-sur-disney-tout-ce-qui-faut-savoir-sur-la-nouvelle-serie-francaise-4990589/)\n\nThe first season's six episodes trace the aftermath: Sam must deal with his friends' inexplicable disappearance; Victor and Romane learn to live without Samuel and Bilal; four years later Victor tries to persuade Romane to join a plan to send them both back in time; and Sofia, a scientist character, works to unlock the secrets of interdimensional travel, which in the finale depends on jogging Bilal's memory.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/paralleles/s01)\n\n## Production\n\n**Creators and companies.** Quoc Dang Tran created the series and co-produced it through Daïmôn Films, a company he founded in 2021 in association with Empreinte Digitale; Anastasia Heinzl co-wrote the scripts, and Raphaël Rocher and Eric Laroche of Empreinte Digitale served as executive producers.[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) • [2](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/new_paralleles_factsheet_en_c3566617.pdf) Tran said the aim was to tell a fantastic story about teenagers at the age when innocence is left behind and the bonds of friendship are unbreakable, and that spectacle and special effects mattered less to the team than emotions and intimacy.[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html)\n\n**Casting.** The teenage characters are played by Thomas Chomel as Samuel, Maxime Bergeron as 13-year-old Victor Deslandes, Victoria Eber as young Romane, and Timoté Rigault as 14-year-old Bilal; Jules Houplain as 17-year-old Victor, Jade Pedri as older Romane, and Omar Mebrouk as 30-year-old Bilal; the adult cast includes Naidra Ayadi as Sofia Belkebirs, Guillaume Labbé as Retz, Gil Alma as [Arnaud Deslandes](https://www.edgepedia.org/arnaud-deslandes), Elise Diamant as Alice Deslandes, Dimitri Storoge as Hervé Berthaud, and Agnès Miguras as Vanessa Berthaud.[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) • [2](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/new_paralleles_factsheet_en_c3566617.pdf) • [15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/paralleles/cast-and-crew) • [16](https://www.telestar.fr/serie-tv/thomas-chomel-paralleles-on-a-approche-le-genre-fantastique-differemment-de-stranger-things-et-dark-722039) • [17](https://newsroom.disney.fr/download-pdf/62417efe5ae83a70a51c25da) Because the characters are displaced in time, the older versions of the teenagers are played by different actors than the younger ones.[8](https://www.cineserie.com/news/series/paralleles-sur-disney-tout-ce-qui-faut-savoir-sur-la-nouvelle-serie-francaise-4990589/)\n\n**Schedule and format.** Disney announced the cast and first images on October 8, 2021, with release set for 2022.[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) Disney's press materials describe six episodes of 40 minutes each;[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) Le Parisien gives individual running times of 33 to 41 minutes,[9](https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/series/paralleles-fantastique-cette-serie-francaise-sur-disney-23-03-2022-6BSA3T3QR5EN7NLLUCLQ5LX62M.php) and JustWatch lists an average runtime of 37 minutes.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/parallels) The series was selected in the official Special Screenings program at Séries Mania 2022.[10](https://www.empreintedigitale.net/paralleles)\n\n## Place in Disney+'s French slate\n\n*Parallèles* was one of the first French productions to air on Disney+ in France and internationally, following the comedy *Week-end Family* as the platform's second French original.[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html) • [11](https://www.journaldugeek.com/critique/critique-paralleles-la-serie-a-geometrie-variable-sur-disney/) Pauline Dauvin, Vice President of Programming, Production and Acquisitions at The Walt Disney Company France, positioned it as a deliberate diversification: fantasy is a genre rarely represented in French series, and the show combines suspense, humor, and the fantastic.[1](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritical response was favorable on a small base: the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer stood at 85% from three reviews, with Common Sense Media awarding 4/5 and calling the series \"a fun bet for fans of Stranger Things.\"[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/paralleles/s01) Reviewers and viewers repeatedly compared it to *Stranger Things* and Netflix's *Dark* for its blend of teenage protagonists, small-town mystery, and time-bending science fiction; French critics judged it a solid first genre effort for Disney+ France, though with less ambition than *Dark*.[11](https://www.journaldugeek.com/critique/critique-paralleles-la-serie-a-geometrie-variable-sur-disney/) • [12](https://www.numerama.com/pop-culture/893721-paralleles-sur-disney-oui-la-france-peut-produire-de-la-bonne-sf.html) Common Sense Media rated it suitable for ages 10 and up, noting themes of loss and loyalty rather than graphic content.[13](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/parallels)\n\nThe series was conceived as a contained run. Asked by *Première* whether a second season was planned, creator Quoc Dang Tran said nothing was planned at the time.[14](https://www.premiere.fr/series/news-series/la-serie-paralleles-de-disney--aura-t-elle-une-saison-2---exclu) The show remains available on Disney+, in 4K with [Dolby Atmos](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolby-atmos) audio and dubs or subtitles in many languages.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/parallels)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Disney+ dévoile le casting et les premières images de PARALLÈLES, Disney France Newsroom (8 October 2021)](https://newsroom.disney.fr/actualites/disney-devoile-le-casting-et-les-premieres-images-de-paralleles-une-production-francaise-originale-disney-a-venir-en-2022-31a9-dc71f.html)\n2. [PARALLELS factsheet, Disney+ (16 March 2022)](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/new_paralleles_factsheet_en_c3566617.pdf)\n3. [Parallels, Crew United](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Parallels__280260.html)\n4. [Parallels: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/paralleles/s01)\n5. [Parallèles (2022), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/parallels)\n6. [Watch Parallels, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-dz/browse/entity-b4286cdc-1bac-439c-9594-5ee6695b98a7)\n7. [Parallels, a Titles & Air Dates Guide, epguides.com](https://epguides.com/Parallels/)\n8. [Parallèles sur Disney+ : tout ce qu'il faut savoir, CinéSérie (23 March 2022)](https://www.cineserie.com/news/series/paralleles-sur-disney-tout-ce-qui-faut-savoir-sur-la-nouvelle-serie-francaise-4990589/)\n9. [«Parallèles» : fantastique, cette série française sur Disney+ !, Le Parisien (23 March 2022)](https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/series/paralleles-fantastique-cette-serie-francaise-sur-disney-23-03-2022-6BSA3T3QR5EN7NLLUCLQ5LX62M.php)\n10. [Parallèles, Empreinte Digitale](https://www.empreintedigitale.net/paralleles)\n11. [Critique Parallèles : la série à géométrie variable sur Disney+, Journal du Geek (22 March 2022)](https://www.journaldugeek.com/critique/critique-paralleles-la-serie-a-geometrie-variable-sur-disney/)\n12. [Parallèles sur Disney+ : oui, la France peut produire de la (bonne) SF, Numerama](https://www.numerama.com/pop-culture/893721-paralleles-sur-disney-oui-la-france-peut-produire-de-la-bonne-sf.html)\n13. [Parallels Parents' Guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/parallels)\n14. [La série Parallèles de Disney+ aura-t-elle une saison 2 ? [exclu], Première](https://www.premiere.fr/series/news-series/la-serie-paralleles-de-disney--aura-t-elle-une-saison-2---exclu)\n15. [Parallels, Cast and Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/paralleles/cast-and-crew)\n16. [Thomas Chomel (Parallèles) : \"On a approché le genre fantastique différemment de Stranger Things et Dark\" - Télé Star](https://www.telestar.fr/serie-tv/thomas-chomel-paralleles-on-a-approche-le-genre-fantastique-differemment-de-stranger-things-et-dark-722039)\n17. [newsroom.disney.fr](https://newsroom.disney.fr/download-pdf/62417efe5ae83a70a51c25da)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Science fiction television series › Time travel and parallel worlds series*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/parallels", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/parallels.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Parallels\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/parallels. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Parallels](https://www.edgepedia.org/parallels)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/parallels](https://www.edgepedia.org/parallels). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Parallels\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/parallels. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Parallels is a 2022 French Disney+ original sci-fi mystery series created by Quoc Dang Tran: six episodes in which four teenage friends are scattered into parallel dimensions by a collider-related event." }