Parish (2024) : Pilot – Season 1 – Episode 1 – RECAP


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After watching TV Series for so long you kinda learn how to have a bit of patience with the story line specially on the first episode, some series take the first episode to present most of the main characters by telling part of their story and purpose without much going on other than then talking without much action or drama. Parish seem to be that kind of series, there was not a lot of action, you do get a few car chase scenes after all its a series about a retired wheel man but it was mostly talking than anything else, I hope I don’t have to drop it from my posts because to be honest trying to understand what to post about I have come to learn that there are some times I need to drop series and stop because they are not that interesting or there are better and new things to talk about.

Episode one present most of the main characters like Gracian Parish who they call Gray, his wife Ros and daughter Makayla who have mix feelings on how to feel about Parish son death, then on the bad guys side there is The Horse the gangster Parish ends up driving for and his brother Zenzo Tongai who is not as patience and Colin who to be honest I’m not sure for how long he is going to last, he is the one in trouble and suck back Parish into his old life besides Parish is drowning in debt.

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18552362/
– Platform: AMC+

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The episode opens up with a scene from the future, even though Parish did get to drive a red Porsche Macan he is never stop by the police, this is a cool car chase that he ends up leaving the police behind, Macan GTS is very fast car that would leave behind that Crown Vic in a blink of an eye although it doesn’t show what variant Parish is driving, the character of an old retired wheel man does suit Gian Carlo Esposito with his grey hair and shades.

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Parish runs a luxury taxi service type, I like how his character falls into all the details of a dedicated man to his ride, this reminds me of Jason Statham back in the day when he use to play the Transporter, another dedicated driver who look after his car more than anything else. Parish is also drowning into debt between tuition, mortgage and his taxi business probably not doing so well to stay up float so he is looking for help, legally; trying to get a loan from the bank but they already know how bad his debt problems are and he might not have a long enough record of keeping this business up float, all we see at his shop might be money he made from his old days as a wheel man driving for shady people.

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There is Sister Anne, she works at Saint Claude Church, she seem to run either an orphanage or day care not sure, Parish goes there to talk to her, trying to take a breath from everything going on, looking for some peace and advice that holds him up from going back to his old ways. I like Gian Carlo southern street accent, its not so common to watch series develop in the south so this brings a different surrounding to a gangster type content, not New York or Los Angeles which are the most classic ones. Sister Anne use to work with him for sure, she is fully retired too and feels lucky to be alive but different than Parish she is afraid of having to go back to that life although Parish is not, this is probably understandable because he kinda make it out, build up a business out of it, not so profitable but he was able to keep his regular life while she dedicates now to the church, I don’t think there is nothing wrong with it but Parish current life conditions in his mind he might feel as a winner, like he fool his old life so going back is not so hard, he wont think about it too much WHEN the opportunity presents.

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Colin and old friend from his old life present this opportunity to Parish, he is with business with The Horse, a gangster from Zimbabwe who needs a driver, at first Parish obviously said no, no matter how Collin ask for this only favor but it was actually very easy to convince Parish to be honest, next day he was at Colin’s place asking for the details of the job, they could have look for another way for this to happen and don’t look this predictable, probably put Parish on a tight situation rather than just the lack of cash.

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There are a good amount of nice cars showing up during the episode, Porsche Macan, Cadillac CT5-V, Audi R8, Mercedes G Wagon, even if this are base models still cool cars for the naked eye, but its more impressive when the wheel man do all kind of tricks with crappy cars and still gets away.

The moment comes and Parish meets The Horse who is a very cool men, its his brother Zenzo who is ruthless and probably after his brother power, its here when Esposito does his best work at been respectful but also from the streets, showing this is not his first rodeo and he is too old to be intimidated or treat like a kid by anyone including The Horse.

I think car guys would enjoy this series the most, it is a series that has started a bit slow and for now what I get is that the main focus will be Parish struggles and conflicts with his old life and how much trouble will Collin get him in, even makes he think that at some point Colin will betray him because to be hones the hole wheel man and car chasing wont build up this series, keep bringing the cool cars, give more details on them and going full throttle when the times come and this might turn into a good series to watch because the first episode did felt a little vague, like there was missing something. There is also a lot to be develop, looks like The Horse life is not as simple as it seems, he has his own problems with his family, he probably inherit the business from his father who is asking him for cash every month.

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Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back

Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back
Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back

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The story follows Gracian “Gray” Parish a retired wheel man that is living an amazing life with his family, he run his own company and lives in a nice suburban home, he is living the average American life but he is also carrying a pain due to his son dead who was killed a year ago during a shooting but the case is still unsolved. One night an old friend and partner in crime named Colin visited Gray and asked, lets better says that Colin begs Gray for help, he is in a dept with the Tongai family, a group of Zimbabwean gangsters and needs Gray to complete a mission due to he is the most capable driving man that he knows, Gary begrudgingly agrees to help Colin but let him know that this will be the last time. The day of the mission arrived but the initial plan goes wrong forcing Gray reroutes things, changing his clothes and stealing a new vehicle, apparently at the end everything ends well, calling the attention of the Tongais siblings and they trying to retain his services but he always refusing to it. Since that moment Gray’s met the Tongais siblings and realized that he just get involved in something huge and bad that is human trafficking and also acknowledged that he is going to need to drive faster than before all to keep his family safe.

The series Parish is going to give a lot of action, pursuit, is going to give a view of real friendship or friendship that just can ruin your life also is going to demonstrate one more time what a person is capable of doing for the well-being of his family. Parish premiered is on March 31st on AMC.

– IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18552362/
– Platform: AMC+
– Release: March 31, 2024

Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back
Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back

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Truly a Stellar Cast for Parish

Giancarlo Esposito take the lead role as Gracian “Gray” Parish, Esposito is known for his portraying as Gus in the acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad, as well in the prequel series Better Call Saul, for that role he won a Critic’s Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2012 and earned three nomination for a Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Esposito has established his career as one of the most versatile and talented actors in the industry. Zackary Momoh portrays The Horse, Momoh is a British actor, began his career in theater making his debut in A United Kingdom in 2016, he is known for his role in the TV Series Seven Seconds 2018 and in the series The Nerves 2021. Arica Himmel as Makayla Parish, Himmel is an American actress best known for her role as Rainbow “Bow” Johnson in the comedy series Mixed Ish, Himmel has garnered attention for her natural charm. Ivan Mbakop portrays Zenzo Tongai, is an American actor, director and application designer. Mbakop first acting was in a commercial for Cox Communications and Coca Cola, he formed part of the movie Baby Mama’s Club 2010 and later in 2017 he debuted as a director with the short Victus. Dax Rey portrays Luke, Rey is a young actor that is known for his role in the series The Good Place 2016, Swan Song 2021 and They Whisper 2023. Paula Malcomson is portraying Ros, Gray’s wife, Malcomson is a Northern Irish actress. She is known for playing Trixie in Deadwood 2004, Maureen Ashby in Sons of Anarchy 2010 and Abby Donovan in Ray Donovan 2013. Skeet Ulrich take the role as Colin. Ulrich is best known for his role of Billy Loomis in the popular franchise Scream, he is also Chris Hooker in the Craft 1996 and Vincent Lopiano in As Good as It Gets 1997.

Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back
Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back

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Into the World of Parish

The story of Parish would the the audience to the life of Gracian “Gray” Parish, a man that has a good life as a retired wheel man that in the present is living in a nice suburban home with his wife and daughter and running a car company but not everything was happiness in Parish life, he was suffering for the dead of his son Maddox who was killed a year ago in a shooting, despite that situation his life seems to be like a average man with a average family. One night Colin, Parish old partner visited him requesting for help, he is in debt to the Tongai Family a group of Zimbabwean gangsters and needs Parish to use his driving skills for a one last time mission, Parish wasn’t happy for that request of his friend but accepted the offer. The series is going to show how Colin and Parish are going to deal with the situation and try to complete the mission, is going to give action scene, a man that believed has no other choice to continue in that job entering with deeply in a wrong path try to find out a way out.

Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back
Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back

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Directorial Vision: Sunu Gonera

Director Sunu Gonera has a story of dreams and determination. Born and living in Zimbawe during the Civil War, Gonera decided to began a journey and follow his dream of becoming a Hollywood director. He and his family sold everything they had in Zimbawe and move to Hollywood but he didn’t work in the filming industry right away, he first studied and has a degree in Organizational Psychology from the University of Cape Town and started pursuing a career in baking before following his dream as a director. Not take too long when he finally started his passing directing different prestigious commercials for brands like Coca-Cola and Nike and filmed a short named Riding with Sugar in 2020, the short was screen in Cannes in 2006, after that he made his directorial debut with the film Pride, that was based in the true story of the first all black high school rowing team, it was starring by Terrence Howard and which earned him an NAACP Image Award Nomination. Since that moment Gonera start recognition in the filming industry, leading him to also direct different episodes in TV Series such as Madam Secretary 2014, 13 Reasons Why 2017 and Snowfall 2017. Now Sunu Gonera is bringing his new project as a co-creator along with Danny Brocklehurst “Parish”. The journey of perseverance and courage for a better life and in search of his dream is the reality that director Sunu Gonera give as an inspiration that all dreams can come true as long as you fight for them.

Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back
Parish (2024): Retired wheel man makes a come back

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Anticipation and Controversy

The series was entirely filmed in the United States, during the filming co-creator and director Sunu Gonera put the production in some challenges due to his departure of the project due to internal investigations, despite that situation the cast and the crew prevailed to continue on the filming and deliver a good series to watch. The series is an adaptation of the TV series The Driver, a British crime drama set in Manchester and aired on BBC One in 2014 and in this occasion Parish wants to show a story of man that helps a friend but that at the end is going to do everything to keep his family safe, trying at the same time to return to his peaceful life. Parish is the series that wants to become the sensation of 2024 giving Parish story and Esposito amazing performance.

Parish is a series that is full of action with a topic that is a reality in the world that is human traffic and simultaneously the reality of a man trying to success and survive and fight against that world. A series that had controversies for the departure of the co-creator and director but that doesn’t stop the cast and crew to continue working and deliver a great series. Following the life of Gray Parish a man that has a good life but for give a hand to a friend now is in a world of gangster that will force him drive as fast as he can to get his life back. Parish brings back to the small screen actor Giancarlo Esposito whose previous performance as Gus in Breaking Bad has established him like one of the best and talented actor in the filming industry. The audience will enjoy the series and judge if one more time Esposito nailed it.

#parish2024, #americancrime, #drama, #tvseries, #adapted, #bbcone, #thedriver, #grayparish, #reformedman, #familylife, #tragedy, #murder, #moraldilemmas, #perilousoutcomes, #taxidriver, #zimbabweangangster, #undocumentedimmigrants, #southernports, #humanity, #justice, #ambiguousboundaries, #officialtrailer, #trailer