“Echoes” Exposes the Impact of Unresolved Relationship Trauma

Atlanta, GA (November 14, 2025) – Dating in present-day America can be summed up in just one word – “toxic” – and Tubi’s popular new film series Echoes effectively captures the destruction that ensues when unresolved trauma creeps into new relationships. The three-part series forces the protagonists (and hopefully viewers) to look in the mirror and contend with the deleterious flaws staring back at them.

Created by Dontavious Shuler Studios, Echoes follows Sydney, played by Shardae Pearson (“Right Plan Wrong Man”, “Four Birds”), and Demetri, played by Gem Marc Collins (“Till”, “BMF”) who are fresh into their relationship. Everything appears to be going well until Sydney’s ex-boyfriend reemerges, causing insecurities to flare, communication to cease, and infidelity to lead to their demise. As the series transitions to part two (Echoes 2: Curses of the Past), more insight into Sydney’s past will be uncovered, serving as a reminder that old wounds left untreated can result in bigger wounds, self-inflicted issues, and a cycle of pain and dysfunction. The Executive Producers are Christia Clarkson and Khalif Breaux, and Mikenzie Lewis is the Cinematographer. 

“The message we are trying to show is that people don’t just end up a certain way, they are that way because of their perspectives and their experiences in life,” said Dontavious Shuler, writer and director of the Echoes series. “The thing is, some people succumb to their negative experiences, and others can overcome them and use it as fuel.”

“Sydney is the girl being held back by those things. She has seen her mom go through domestic violence; she has seen street violence and has been a victim of molestation. She is still carrying those kid wounds, but doesn’t understand how to fix those things because she doesn’t even know where they come from.”

Pearson says she can relate to Sydney because she too has allowed the comfort of familiarity to cloud her decision-making in the past. Additionally, witnessing her mother endure domestic violence during her youth has made her privy to the challenges victims face with insecurities and processing their victimization.  She hopes Echoes can shed light on the importance of people being proactive in understanding and addressing their issues. 

“Seek therapy. Keep growing and finding a resolution behind the reasons you do things,” she said. “Find closure to the pain, forgiveness…self-love. If you love yourself, everything that comes to you will be for your greatest good and you can discern better as opposed to making bad decisions rooted in your lack of self-love.”

She continued – “This film makes you take a look in the mirror to face your insecurities and traumas. It makes you ask yourself, what am I doing to cause this outcome? It is about accountability. When we make decisions, we have to deal with the ramifications.”

Collins, who plays Demetri, agrees. Towards the end of part one, his character is seen in a tearful and vulnerable moment with his therapist.

“I love the final scenes [of part one] at the therapy session. Just grieving, getting it out there without abusing drugs, abusing alcohol or another person. As a black people it is so necessary to do that because we often frown upon that,” he said.

“I hadn’t been to therapy until I did this film. I have been in couples and individual therapy because I see that if we don’t seek an outlet, when we fall in love and it doesn’t work out, we can fall dangerously and do other things that are dangerous. Hurt people hurt people. I think this is a powerful film because so many times in our community black love may not work out, but it is important for us to love ourselves enough to help ourselves, rather than to hate ourselves so much and then destroy others.”

With part one already creating a buzz, the soon to be released Echoes 2: Curses of the past will explore these topics more in depth.

For more information on the ECHOES series, visit dontaviousshulerstudios.com. Watch it now on Tubi and Amazon: Prime Video.