# Impulse (2018)

> A withdrawn teenage outsider in a new New York town discovers a teleportation power she cannot control after a traumatic encounter.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/67864

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 49 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: science fiction, drama
- Created by: Jeffrey Lieber
- Network: YouTube Premium
- Cast: Maddie Hasson, Missi Pyle, Sarah Desjardins, Enuka Okuma, Craig Arnold, Tanner Stine, Daniel Maslany, Callum Keith Rennie
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6160506/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: tense, brooding, emotional, raw

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive, with viewers praising the lead performance and the teleportation-driven genre premise while the series is remembered as a cult teen sci-fi drama cut short after two seasons.

## Synopsis

Impulse (2018-2019) is an American science fiction drama created by Jeffrey Lieber and released on YouTube Premium. Maddie Hasson plays Henrietta "Henry" Coles, a sixteen-year-old outsider who arrives in the small town of Reston, New York, withdrawn and friendless with a chip on her shoulder. Her world tilts when a traumatic encounter with a classmate unleashes a teleportation power she cannot control. Missi Pyle plays her mother Cleo Coles, whose protective instincts collide with the secrecy and danger that come with her daughter's gift, while Sarah Desjardins and Craig Arnold fill out the high school circle of new friends and rivals. The engine of the show is Henry's struggle to govern a power that flares up under stress, and each episode turns on the small, concrete costs of hiding it from teachers, classmates and a local deputy who begins to take notice. Across two seasons of ten episodes each, the story stays serialized, with its arc driven by trauma, secrecy and fragile family ties. The mood is brooding and tense, with moments of raw emotion and a strong teen drama texture. Fans of Heroes and Misfits will find resonance in its blend of teenage alienation and supernatural unrest, set in a present-day American suburb.

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