As one might guess from my love for 2023’s Slip, I have an affection for stories in which a lead character encounters several alternate lives. And, apparently, I also enjoy it when they pop up on niche free streaming services such as The Roku Channel, as with Slip, or Tubi in the case of Demascus.

Demascus is a decidedly less odd take on the subgenre. In this case, our titular lead (Okieriete Onaodowan, likely better known to theatre fans than television ones) connects with his alternate realities via something called DIRT. Our protagonist is introduced to it by his therapist, Dr. Bonnetville (Janet Hubert). An experimental procedure, she handwaves the risks and sets him up in her office. Leaning back in a chair and strapping on a headpiece that resembles other virtual reality rigs like Strange Days’ Squid or Now You See Me’s “teleporting” helmet, he’s world hopping in but a few moments. The hope is that it might break Demascus out of a slow downward spiral, possibly triggered by his mother’s death. In other words, perhaps DIRT might be a technological Road to Damascus for Demascus.

What makes the series interesting is how quickly it takes the viewer off their feet. No, it doesn’t utilize as far-fetched a mechanism as Slip’s “jump a world every time you orgasm”. It also doesn’t drop Demascus into worlds as wild as, say, the alternate timelines of Sliders. However, what is the real timeline and what is a different one becomes a question almost immediately. By the season’s (and likely, the series’) end, the DIRT sessions have obscured “true” reality. The jumps have become so layered, it isn’t even clear if the first time we meet Demascus in episode 1 was the native timeline either.

As a result, Demascus quickly separates from others in the subgenre. Whereas they’re almost universally concerned with returning to that “correct” world, that’s not the focus of this series. Instead, it is more concerned with finding a choice that might set him up for a better future. Of course, what that means is never entirely clear either. Does that mean committing to Budhi (Sasha Hutching), the woman is frequently dating/breaking up with/broken up with across multiple universes? Does it mean trying for something with Naomi (Shakira Ja’nai Paye), a possible love interest who pops up in nearly every world?

And what of his career path? Does being a gossiped-about graphic designer for the government fit him? An artist? A writer? A priest?!

Additionally, what world is best for his friends? Each dip in DIRT seems to alter them as well, so how much should Demascus consider their fates, too? Does he have a responsibility to ensure his usually best friend Redd (Caleb Eberhardt) ends up a responsible attorney codeswitching on the golf course? Or an artist dad in a sexually volatile on-again, off-again relationship with his child’s mother? Should he choose a world where his sister Shaena (Brittany Adebumola) exists even though she might not have in his original life? How much should he worry about how the other worlds treat his uncle 40 (Martin Lawrence, as good as he’s been at balancing drama and comedy in years)?

As a white man, I’m feel somewhat at sea commenting on the show’s racial themes. That said, it is impossible not to notice them or their richness. Interviews with the show’s creator, playwright Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm, affirm this. He reveals the goal of exploring the distances between expectations for Black men in American culture. While Demascus remains largely unchanged in terms of personality world to world—a smart way to illustrate how stuck in neutral he truly is—the other Black men in his life, like Redd, Arnez (Marvin LaViolette), and Lil’ Spoona (Tyrel Jackson Williams), frequently get very different personalities and fates.

So often, alternate universe stories are predominantly about the protagonist. Everyone else feels resigned to something akin to an NPC or living prop. While Demascus is primarily concerned with the lead finding his way during his 33rd year, his Jesus year as he often says, it doesn’t treat everyone else around him as afterthoughts. His DIRT journeys affect them for better and worse—jobs, family connections, deaths, and more. The show continues to remind the audience that whatever Demascus decides about his life, the consequences that will ensue do not only happen to and for him.

Visually, the series bears what are likely some of the scars of being originally an AMC production before being dumped in the wilderness for Tubi to discover it. There is a good sense of movement and a nice expansion of the world that doesn’t disorient the audience too badly. However, the settings are frequently bland, and the show likely could’ve used another lighting and color pass before release. These drawbacks, though, don’t detract from what makes the show so attractive.

Onaodowan makes an excellent central figure, an actor who can convey a sense of inertia without making the character himself boring. And the moments he gets to do something a little more intense—a brief flash of anger towards a romantic partner, some speechifying in a hospital—sell without feeling out of character. The rest of the supporting cast is equal to him. I already noted Lawrence feels especially strong, but he’s not the only bright spot. Nearly to a one, the actors inhabit variations on their characters that can be wildly different while still feeling familiar. It’s a shame this show got dumped off by AMC because it has the makings of something that could’ve graduated from intriguing to truly compelling with another six episodes.

Demascus hits the DIRT on Tubi starting August 7.

Demascus Trailer: