After 17-year-old Léa discovers the remains of Ismaël – a 17-year-old boy who died thirty years earlier – she finds herself going back in time to inhabit the bodies of all the potential suspects in the lead up to the fateful night in 1991. 

Another week, another time-loop paradox series. Well, I guess it makes a change from the end of the world.

As Netflix’s new French language YA time-bending coming-of-age drama revved into action – with our young heroine finding herself embroiled in the teenage love-lives of her unhappy middle-aged parents – I confess to having felt slightly weary. Was this going to be just another tired take on Retour vers le Futur? Not to mention that the distant past young Léa visits is in 1991, when I was already in my thirties thus making me nearly old enough to be her granddad! Arghhhh!

When I’d recovered from that shocking realisation, and despite it treading a lot of very well-worn territory, The 7 Lives of Léa is a surprisingly fresh take on a story we have all seen explored dozens of times. It’s a really good show; a beautiful, elegant variation on a familiar tune with lots of lovely new twiddly bits.

So, how does it succeed and distinguish itself so successfully? For a start it takes the idea of body swapping, popping back in time and the effects on the continuum as read. It doesn’t bother getting hung up on that. It assumes we’ve all seen this stuff before and it doesn’t need explaining. It’s a means to an end. Primarily 7 Lives is an emotional detective story. It’s about finding out how the troubled and talented Ismaël met his end, and how and why that changed the lives of all the protagonists. As Léa inhabits their bodies one by one, so she learns to empathise with all of them, no matter how superficially unlikeable they are – and there’s an intelligent subtext about French society and its racial and class divisions along the way.

It’s also a very truthful exploration of the generational divide, and how finally understanding your parents is one of the most crucial aspects to achieving genuine maturity. In pursuing this it also distinguishes itself by not flinching from where that will take the story in terms of sex, gender and sexuality – uncomfortably so at times. I’m not sure a British or American show would be as brave. So while it does have a YA schtick, parents may want to be aware that there is some relatively explicit content, language and a good deal of drug taking.

Secondly, it is extremely well written. The plotting is pretty much flawless – which is a rare thing in a time-loop drama. Again, some of this is down to not getting too hung up on the sci-fi element. I can’t say how much of this is from the original novel (Les 7 Vies de Léo Belami by Nataël Trapp), which I haven’t read. A quick Google tells me this TV version has swapped some of the key genders, so it’s reasonable to assume that there is a lot of new input in terms of diversity and other themes.

Next, the quality of the acting and direction raises this series a good way above the norm. The young actors have been excellently cast. Khalil Ben Gharbia is particularly charismatic as the ill-fated Ismaël; Maïra Schmidt in a supporting role as Léa’s best friend is something of a scene-stealer (in a good way); and Raïka Hazanavicius holds the whole thing together as Léa, even if she bears a disconcerting resemblance to a young Maria Schneider (disconcerting to viewers of a certain vintage, I should add). If I have a minor quibble it’s that the main cast are mostly in their twenties (presumably due to the more explicit content) and there are a few ‘Grease’-type high school moments where even just being four or five years too old makes them look a little antediluvian.

Lastly, while the astute viewer will probably predict the general drift of the story, I was genuinely surprised by the boldness of the ending, which doesn’t cop-out in any way. It’s a very satisfying and truthful conclusion.

Verdict: The 7 Lives of Léa is an absorbing and intriguing series. A time-tale as old as time, perhaps, but with a sure heart and some powerful, insightful things to say on the journey. 9/10

Martin Jameson