Parents' Guide to Debris

J.H. Wyman, known for cerebral, science-fiction/mystery dramas such as Fringe and Almost Human, continues dissecting humanity in Debris. The series plunks viewers in the aftermath of a mysterious alien spaceship crash, with the wreckage sprinkling around the world. Agents Finola Jones and Bryan Beneventi are tasked with collecting the fragments in the U.S., and through their work they begin to explore the state of humanity itself.

The series clearly owes a debt to The X-Files, down to having two agents on two sides of the belief spectrum -- Finola does believe in a higher power and an order to the universe, while Bryan doesn't. The differences in opinion doesn't give way to arguments though -- instead, it sparks deeper discussions about humanity's place in the universe, our connection to tougher emotions such as grief, and how to allow empathy and compassion to transform grief into personal power. Indeed, the series' premiere episode focuses exclusively on how grief can transform people into shells of their former selves if it gets out of control. Even though the show looks like a typical "problem of the week"-style, high-concept procedural and can be creepy at times, Debris is actually a meditation on how to engage with the messiness and chaos of the human experience.