Impulse (TV series)

Impulse is an American science fiction drama web television series, based on the 2013 novel Impulse by Steven Gould, that premiered on June 6, 2018, on YouTube Premium. The series is executive produced by Lauren LeFranc, Doug Liman, David Bartis, and Gene Klein. LeFranc also acts as showrunner for the series. In July 2018, the series was renewed for a second season consisting of ten episodes, which premiered on October 16, 2019. Impulse was canceled in March 2020.

Impulse
Genre
Based onImpulse
by Steven Gould
Developed byJeffrey Lieber
Starring
Composer(s)Deru
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Gene Klein
  • Jeffrey Lieber
  • David Bartis
  • Doug Liman
  • Lauren LeFranc
Producer(s)
  • Kim Todd
  • Michael Pendell (pilot)
Production location(s)Ontario, Canada
Cinematography
  • David Greene
  • Colin Hoult
Editor(s)
  • Tamara Luciana
  • Christopher S. Capp
  • Doc Crotzer
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time44–59 minutes
Production company(s)
Release
Original networkYouTube Premium
Picture format4K (UHDTV)
Original releaseJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06) –
October 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
External links
Official YouTube channel

Premise

Impulse follows 16-year-old Henrietta "Henry" Coles who discovers she has the ability to teleport but has no control over her destination. The first time she realizes this, she is in a truck with her high school's basketball captain and star, Clay Boone, who tries to violate her. She has a seizure and teleports, in the course of which she inadvertently crushes much of his truck when her ability to teleport first manifests, leaving him a paraplegic. The show then explores Henry's feelings of fear regarding the assault, and the discovery that those feelings can trigger her ability to teleport and psionically move objects from a distance.

Cast and characters

Main
  • Maddie Hasson as Henrietta "Henry" Coles, a teenage girl who possesses the ability to teleport, though has no control over her destination. She first realizes she has this capability while in the middle of being assaulted. Her powers activate through emotional distress. She eventually is taught to control her powers.
    • Carina Battrick portrays a younger Henry Coles in a supporting role.
  • Sarah Desjardins as Jenna Faith Hope, Henry's soon-to-be stepsister and confidante. Initially cold and distant towards Henry, she becomes closer to her upon discovering that she was assaulted. She soon begins questioning her gender.
  • Enuka Okuma as Anna Hulce, a deputy sheriff in Reston, investigating the incident which left Clay Boone physically disabled for life via his legs. She eventually witnesses a man teleporting away right before her eyes and confronts Henry about it.
  • Craig Arnold as Lucas Boone, a local mechanic, drug trafficker, and the eldest son of car and drug dealer Bill Boone. After spending time with the Millers and learning their religious ways, he returns to Reston and declares his unwavering devotion and allegiance to Henry as penance for what his father and brother put her through.
  • Tanner Stine as Clay Boone, a star of the local basketball team and Bill Boone's youngest son. A classmate of Henry's, Clay develops an interest in her when she begins attending school. While making out in his truck, he attempts to assault her. The assault causes her latent ability to teleport to activate, resulting in her having a seizure and teleporting away out of self-preservation. The resulting spatial distortion of Henry's escape crushes much of Clay's truck and leaves him without the use of his legs. (main season 1, guest season 2)
  • Keegan-Michael Key as Michael Pearce,[lower-alpha 1] a scientist at a gravitational wave detector. (season 1)
  • Missi Pyle as Cleo Coles, Henry's mother. She is living with and dating Thomas Hope.
  • Daniel Maslany as Townes Linderman, an autistic student at Reston High School who becomes close friends with Henry (recurring season 1, main season 2)
  • Callum Keith Rennie as Nikolai (recurring season 1, main season 2), a master teleporter who was responsible for abducting Henrietta's father, Simon, ten years ago. He eventually mentors Henry on how to further develop and master her increasingly powerful abilities.

Recurring
  • Matt Gordon as Thomas Hope, Jenna's father. He and Cleo Coles live together with their daughters.
  • David James Elliott as Bill Boone, a local car dealer who also traffics in drugs. He is Lucas and Clay's father and Cleo Cole's boss.
  • Genevieve Kang as Patty Yang, a cheerleader at Reston High School and Clay's ex-girlfriend. She breaks up with him after discovering that he had been cheating on her.
  • Gabriel Darku as Zach Jaymes
  • Aidan Devine as Sheriff Dale
  • Shawn Doyle as Jeremiah Miller
  • Tara Rosling as Esther Miller
  • Gordon Harper as Amos Miller
  • Dylan Trowbridge as Matthew
  • Angel Giuffria as Zoe, Townes' online girlfriend who he games with
  • Keon Alexander as Dominick, a Frenchman who also possesses the ability to teleport long distances at will, and has greater control over his "jumps" than Henry
  • Raphael Bergeron-Lapointe as Tristan, Dominick's six-year-old son who has inherited his father's ability to teleport
  • Rohan Mead as Jason Munther
  • Geoffrey Pounsett as Deputy Gabriel
  • Paula Boudreau as Nurse Mary
  • Michael Reventar as Luis Castillo
  • Rachel Wilson as Iris
  • Alex Paxton-Beesley as Sabine, Dominick's wife and Tristan's mother
  • Steve Fifield as Eddie Max
  • Catherine Burdon as Eileen Paige, the principal of Reston High School
  • Christina Collins as Gale
  • Jamal Brown as Quinn
  • Julia Knope as Brenda Gasser
  • Sam Kantor as Damian
  • Kristian Bruun as Sheldon Gibson
  • Sandra Flores as Mrs. Gerhard
  • Duane Murray as Sam
  • Lauren Collins as Meghan Linderman
  • Amadeus Serafini as Josh
  • Billy Otis as Gil
  • Kevin Hanchard as Jack Weakley, a doctor who treats Henry after she suffers a seizure
  • Elisa Moolecherry as Nora Barnes
  • Michelle Nolden as Wendy Jacobson, Bill Boone's estranged ex-wife and Lucas and Clay's mother

Guest

Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
110June 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
210October 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)

Season 1 (2018)
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"Pilot"Doug LimanStory by : Jeffrey Lieber
Teleplay by : Jeffrey Lieber & Jason Horwitch & Gary Spinelli		June 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
Two men fight in a subway, teleporting between there and the arctic before one man is trapped in the latter. Meanwhile, Henrietta "Henry" Coles lives with her mother, Cleo, her mother's boyfriend, Thomas, and his daughter Jenna. She has a strained relationship with them and frequently graffiti's the town. During class, she suffers a seizure that causes the classroom to shake. Later, she is caught graffitiing and is forced to pay a fine, causing Thomas to sell her car. She gets a classmate, Clay, to retrieve her car for her, as it's in his family's lot. Later, they go to his car where he assaults her. Panicking, she has another seizure and ends up in her room with part of Clay's car. She tells Jenna and they find Clay, call 911 and return home. Clay survives, but will be permanently paralyzed as a result. Later, Thomas finds part of Clay's car in Henry's room, but lies to Deputy Anne Hulce when she inquires about Henry's 911 call, stating she'd been home all night. Clay's brother Lucas confronts Henry, driving her and Jenna off the road before kidnapping Henry and taking her to the family garage, but she teleports home.
22"State of Mind"Alex KalymniosLauren LeFrancJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
Two men fight on a rooftop, resulting in another man being pushed off. One of the men returns home to his wife and son before they teleport. Henry is in her bedroom after being taken by Lucas and attempts to explain what happened to Jenna. Lucas explains to his father what happened, but his father is convinced the Millers, from Canada, attacked Clay. On the way to an appointment, Henry gets flashbacks of her assault. The doctor explains to Henry that she has a condition that can explain her memory loss. She meets Thomas, who threw out the car parts and warns her about Clay's father. Hulce is stopped when looking further into Clay's accident. Jenna goes and returns her car to the impound lot. At school, Henry's classmate Townes tries to convince her she has superpowers. Walking home, she runs into Bill, who takes her to the Millers and asks her to identify who attacked Clay. Cleo expresses to Thomas her worry over Henry's condition. Later, Jenna and Henry smoke and Jenna admits she wishes Clay were dead. Jenna tells Henry that Clay has woken up, and upon having a panic attack in the bathroom, teleports to her bedroom.
33"Treading Water"Ed FraimanDebra FordhamJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
Townes witnesses the incident with Henry in the bathroom. Cleo argues with both Henry, at home, and Thomas, at the bowling alley, about the night of the accident. At Townes house, Jenna and Henry meet with his sister Meghan before they theorize that Henry teleporting because of fear. To evoke fear, they have her jump off a cliff into a lake, but it fails. Jenna confronts Lucas and warns him to stay away from Henry. Learning Clay is paralyzed, Henry goes to the cliff and manages to teleport to her bedroom. Henry discovers Clay doesn't remember assaulting her, and tells him they were attacked. Townes finds a video of the man teleporting during the subway fight. Henry and her mother reconcile, and she discovers her father abandoned her at home as a child while Cleo was away. In her sleep, Henry teleports somewhere. Meanwhile, the body of one of the Millers is found. Elsewhere, Dominick, who teleported with his family, leaves his wife, Sabine, and son, to ask a friend, Sam, about a device that stops him from teleporting. He learns it had a tracking device on it and when he returns home he finds Sabine dead and his son gone.
44"Vita/Mors"Mark TonderaiJohn McCutcheonJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
Henry wakes up in an unknown place, but is able to teleport back to her room. Hulce and her partner alert the Millers that their son, Amos, overdosed and died. Henry tells Jenna about teleporting in her sleep, but she seems uninterested. Bill gives Cleo a job interview at his garage. Henry tells Townes about teleporting in her sleep and asks him to watch her in case she does it again, which she does before returning again. After, Henry argues with Townes, causing him to leave. Out shopping, Jenna tells Cleo that this was the day her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Hulce discovers the Boones are smuggling drugs to the Millers. Jenna criticizes Henry for pushing her mom away and only thinking of herself. Bill offers Cleo a job. Henry is about to tell her mom about Clay until she finds out that she got a job working for Bill Boone. Henry teleports once more, and starts to believe she's in a childhood home. Dominick finds his son but is unable to teleport with him. A man, Nikolai, asks him to surrender. However, knowing his son would be experimented on, Dominick kills them both. Meanwhile, Hulce is held at gunpoint in her car.
55"The Eagle and the Bee"Helen ShaverMatt PittsJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
Nikolai kills a man at his motel before running off. Meanwhile, Henry believes she's in a childhood home and convinces the owner she was hired by her daughter to help her. Jeremiah talks to Bill about the death of his son, and asks for help in getting his body. Hulce discovers she was taken by the DEA who asks them to step away from the Miller/Boone case. Jenna is invited by classmate Zach to join him as they pull a prank on another school. Cleo gets advice from Lucas after a hard first day. Officer Dale insists to Hulce that the case is closed. Henry has memories of her father, and asks the owner about the house and discovers her parents used to live there. Lucas goes and visits his mother and they argue about each others absences. During the prank, Jenna and Zach hide from security where they kiss. In a flashback it's revealed Lucas killed the Miller's son. Jenna watches Meghan and her girlfriend at the bowling alley. Henry is picked up and taken home, while Nikolai is alerted to another case. Meanwhile, Hulce is haunted by a former case.
66"In Memoriam"Valerie WeissMichael Bhim & Clare McQuillanJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
Townes starts a relationship with a girl he met online who promises to come to an award ceremony. Henry is dropped at home by her ex-boyfriend, Josh. Jenna, also being presented the award, discourages Henry from attending because Clay is due to be honored. Henry questions Jenna's friendship with Zach and warns her about him. Amo's mother goes to Hulce and insists his bible was stolen. Henry and Josh almost have sex in his car, but she has a flashback to the assault. Bill discovers Jeremiah has a new distributor. When Townes misses the ceremony, Jenna accepts the award instead. Henry discovers Townes missed the ceremony because his girlfriend didn't show up. Josh admits he misses Henry, but has a panic attack afterwards. Clay discovers his team is retiring his jersey number. Josh tries to convince Henry to run away with him, but she refuses. Cleo takes Halce to Boone Motors where she finds her sneaking in the cabinets. Townes and his girlfriend make up. Henry tells Clay that he assaulted her, but he says she wanted it. She tells him she caused his paralysis and that she's glad.
77"He Said, She Said"Maggie KileyTorrey SpeerJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
Hulce investigates a rock thrown through Clay's, but he denies knowing who threw it. Afterwards, he throws a party at his house. Clay asks his ex, Patty, if she ever felt pressured when they were dating. Lucas shows Clay what happened to their cars, and admits he believes Henry. Nikolai appears in Boone Motors, and talks to Clay about the accident. After breaking Clay's window, Henry's picked up by Halce and recognizes a photo of Amos in her car. She tells her mom about the window and intends on apologizing to Bill. Jenna tells Henry about Zach, and admits she doesn't think he's the right person. Henry apologizes about breaking the window and tells him she recognized Amos but Bill tells her to let it go. Cleo invites Bill and his sons over for dinner. Henry shows Hulce a recording of her encounter with Bill. During the dinner, Hulce sneaks into the Bill's house at the same time Jeremiah does, both looking for the diary. Henry tells Lucas about Clay and her lie about the Millers. While having a panic attack, Henry begins to tell her mom what Clay did before having a seizure.
88"Awakening"Rebecca JohnsonLauren LeFranc & Debra FordhamJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
In her mind and dream-like state, Henry sees Jenna getting assaulted by Zach. Lucas gets into an argument with Clay and Billy and reveals that Clay tried to assault Henry. It's revealed that Henry is having a non-convulsive seizure whilst unconscious. Jenna calls Townes about what happened and they decide to find her dad. Cleo's ex-boyfriends appear to Henry, all unconcerned. She then sees a younger version of herself at school. Meanwhile, Clay and his dad talk about Henry and he states he doesn't know what happened. Jenna tells Cleo about Henry's assault. Henry is blamed by Lucas for Amo's death and encouraged by Townes to slay the monster. Hulce tells the DEA about Jeremiah and the Boones. It's revealed Hulce' defended her former partner, a white cop, for shooting a black kid. Henry sees a memory of her and her father and sees Nikolai taking him. Cleo goes to Bill's Motor's where she angrily runs into Lucas. Returning home, Jenna finds Nikolai in Henry's room. Meanwhile, Henry beats up Clay in anger, thinking he's the monster, but discovers it's herself. Waking up, she teleports to her bedroom and stops Nikolai from attacking Jenna, who stabs him before he teleports before collapsing.
99"They Know Not What They Do"Cherien DabisLauren LeFranc & Matt PittsJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
1010"New Beginnings"Mairzee AlmasLauren LeFrancJune 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)

Season 2 (2019)
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
111"Mind on Fire"Doug LimanLauren LeFrancOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
122"Fight or Flight"Mairzee AlmasJohn McCutcheonOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
133"For Those Lost"Alex KalymniosNikole BeckwithOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
144"The Moroi"Jill RobertsonVladimir CvetkoOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
155"Crossing the Threshold"Sydney FreelandCandice PhilpotOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
166"Seven of Hearts"Julian HolmesJamie KingOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
177"The End of the World"Alexis OstranderLara ShapiroOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
188"The Tether"Mairzee AlmasJohn McCutcheon & Nikole BeckwithOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
199"A Moment of Clarity"Mark TonderaiVladimir Cvetko & Alex EldridgeOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
2010"Making Amends"Maggie KileyLauren LeFrancOctober 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)

Production

Development

On December 15, 2016, YouTube commissioned a television pilot titled Impulse from a script by Jeffrey Lieber, with revisions by Gary Spinelli, loosely based on the novel by Steven Gould. It was to be produced by the production companies Hypnotic and Universal Cable Productions with Doug Liman, David Bartis, and Gene Klein of Hypnotic reported to be executive producers. Liman was also expected to direct the pilot as well.[1][2]

On June 27, 2017, YouTube gave the production a series order with a premiere tentatively set for 2018.[3][4][5][6][7] On January 13, 2018, producer/writer Lauren LeFranc joined the series in the position of showrunner and executive producer.[8] On May 10, 2018, YouTube Red released the first official trailer and set the series premiere for June 6, 2018.[9]

On July 19, 2018, the series was renewed for a second season consisting of ten episodes, which premiered on October 16, 2019.[10][11] On March 10, 2020, it was announced that the series had been canceled.[12]

Casting

Simultaneously with the announcement of the pilot order, it was confirmed that Maddie Hasson, Sarah Desjardins, Missi Pyle, Enuka Okuma, and Craig Arnold had been cast as series regulars. In addition, it was reported that David James Elliott would appear in the series in a main role.[1][2][13]

Filming

Production for the pilot began in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on December 16, 2016.[1][2] Filming continued in the Cayuga community in Haldimand County, Ontario at locations including Cayuga Secondary School, the Cayuga Administration Building, Haldimand Motors, Toronto Motorsports Park, a resident's farm, as well as many other facilities. On January 13, 2017, the production filmed an accident scene on Kohler Road in Cayuga.[14] On October 13, 2017, filming for a portion of the rest of the series took place in the Carlisle community of Hamilton, Ontario.[15] Filming for the second season took place from February 21 to June 14, 2019, in Toronto.[16]

Release

Marketing

On March 22, 2018, YouTube released the first teaser trailer for the series.[17] On March 24, 2018, the show hosted a panel at the annual WonderCon fan convention in Anaheim, California. It was moderated by IGN's Laura Prudom and featured executive producers Liman and Gene Klein, showrunner Lauren LeFranc and actors Maddie Hasson, Missi Pyle and Daniel Maslany.[17] On May 10, 2018, the first official trailer was released.[9] On May 30, 2018, YouTube made the first episode available to those owning a Google Assistant.[18] From June 5–7, 2018, YouTube employed the use of viral marketing with the assistance of popular YouTube creators Kendall Rae, Karina Garcia, Cam's Creations, Nichole Jacklyne, Ayydubs, and Jacksfilms. During the span of those days, the content creators embedded footage of Keon Alexander's character Dominick from the series teleporting into and out of their videos.[19]

Premiere

On June 7, 2018, the series held its official premiere at the Roxy Cinema in New York City. The premiere included a screening followed by a question and answer session featuring executive producer Doug Liman and lead actress Maddie Hasson.[20]

Reception

The first season was met with a positive response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 6.67 out of 10 based on 9 reviews.[21]

Notes
  1. Credited among the main cast in the pilot only.
gollark: The answer is, of course, -32767.
gollark: ++delete <@!543131534685765673> (disliking hypercones‽)
gollark: HYPERCONE YOU
gollark: * 2D tetrahedron
gollark: nobody.

References
  1. Petski, Denise (December 16, 2016). "YouTube's 'Impulse' Pilot Casts Maddie Hasson, Sarah Desjardins & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  2. "Maddie Hasson, & More Join Cast of YouTube's Sci-Fi Thriller Pilot IMPULSE". Broadway World. December 19, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (June 27, 2017). "'Impulse' Doug Liman Action Drama Pilot Picked Up To Series By YouTube Red". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  4. Holloway, Daniel (June 27, 2017). "Doug Liman's 'Impulse' Gets Series Order From YouTube Red". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  5. Jarvey, Natalie (June 27, 2017). "YouTube Red Greenlights Doug Liman Drama 'Impulse'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  6. Weiss, Geoff (June 27, 2017). "YouTube Red Orders Doug Liman-Produced Action-Thriller To Series - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  7. Erao, Matthew (June 27, 2017). "Jumper Spinoff Series Impulse Ordered by YouTube Red". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  8. de Moraes, Lisa (January 13, 2018). "'Impulse' Explores Sexual Assault And Teleportation On YouTube Red — TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  9. Nemetz, Dave (May 10, 2018). "Impulse Trailer: A Teen Girl Taps Into Strange Powers In YouTube's Thriller". TVLine. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  10. Petski, Denise (July 19, 2018). "'Impulse' Renewed For Season 2 By YouTube". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  11. Andreeva, Nellie (August 29, 2019). "YouTube Drops Paywall With 'Cobra Kai' Release, Sets 'Impulse' & 'Liza on Demand' Returns, Johnny Cash Docu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  12. Andreeva, Nellie (March 10, 2020). "Impulse Canceled By YouTube After 2 Seasons". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  13. Ahern, Sarah (December 16, 2016). "TV News Roundup: The CW to Air 'Howie Mandel All-Star Comedy Gala' on Jan. 16". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  14. Smith, Shawn (January 15, 2017). "Is that Cayuga or Hollywood? Series pilot comes to Haldimand for small town feel". Sachem.ca. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  15. Lovett, Julia (October 17, 2017). "Carlisle has an Impulse to film". Flamborough Review. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  16. "Current Productions | IATSE 873". IATSE 873. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  17. Petski, Denise (March 22, 2018). "'Impulse' Teaser: First Look At Doug Liman's Action Drama Series On YouTube Red". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  18. Dent, Steve (May 30, 2018). "Google Assistant users can preview YouTube's 'Impulse' for free". Engadget. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  19. Klein, Jessica (June 14, 2018). "YouTube Premium Series 'Teleports' Character Into Gabbie Hanna, JacksFilms, David Dobrik's Videos (Exclusive)". Tubefilter. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  20. "Josephine Skriver, Shanina Shaik, Kyle MacLachlan at YouTube Hosts a Special Screening of "Impulse"". New York Style Guide. June 9, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  21. "Impulse: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
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