Parents' Guide to His Dark Materials

Based on Philip Pullman's acclaimed fantasy books, HIS DARK MATERIALS is a fantasy series that follows the life of an orphan in an alternate-universe London. Young Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen) lives as a ward of the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford, where she was left as an infant by her uncle, Lord Asriel Belacqua (James McAvoy), in order to be sheltered from the all-powerful religious organization known as the Magisterium. As a ward of the college, Lyra lives a sheltered but happy life along with Pantalaimon (voiced by Kit Connor), aka "Pan," her daemon (an animal manifestation of her soul/inner self), and fellow orphan Roger (Lewin Lloyd). But when Asriel briefly returns from the frozen North and challenges Magisterium doctrine with reports of an alternate universe beyond the Northern Lights, tensions start to rise. Ms. Marisa Coulter (Ruth Wilson) promises to take Lyra on a Northern exploration and help her find Roger, who has suddenly disappeared. But Ms. Coulter isn't what she seems, and Lyra finds herself embarking on her own adventure with Pan and a golden compass (known as an alethiometer). Lyra meets Will (Amir Wilson), a teenage boy who escaped from the modern-day Oxford in search of his missing father (Andrew Scott). Together, they travel across different worlds, where Will eventually discovers his own unique destiny. Meanwhile, Lyra's allies -- including aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Lin-Manuel Miranda), an armored bear named Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Joe Tandberg), and a group of witches -- offer their help in the fight against the Magisterium.