When an experimental time machine is stolen, a history professor, a soldier and an engineer are tasked with capturing the culprit. They soon learn, however, that the thief plans to rewrite American history, and that each of them has a connection to his plan, as well as the mysterious organization that funded the machine's development.
Cast and characters
Main
Abigail Spencer as Lucy Preston, a history professor and leader of the "Lifeboat" team.
Matt Lanter as Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan, a U.S. Army Delta Force operative and soldier of the "Lifeboat" team.
Malcolm Barrett as Rufus Carlin, a programmer and pilot of the "Lifeboat" team.
Paterson Joseph as Connor Mason, head of Mason Industries, creator of the "Lifeboat" and "Mothership" time machines.
Sakina Jaffrey as Denise Christopher, the Homeland Securityagent in charge of the "Lifeboat" team.
Claudia Doumit as Jiya Marri, a talented young programmer at Mason Industries.
Goran Višnjić as Garcia Flynn, a former NSA asset whom the team chases when he steals the "Mothership"; he later joins the "Lifeboat" team to stop Rittenhouse.
Long considered one of NBC's hot pilots, it was ordered to series on May 13, 2016, after lengthy negotiations to obtain the series' "in-season stacking rights", which allow a network to stream all episodes of a series' current season via all the network's online platforms. On November 1, 2016, NBC ordered three additional episodes, increasing the first season order to 16. The season concluded on February 20, 2017. Shawn Ryan and Eric Kripke, creators and show runners of the series, drew inspiration from Quantum Leap, Back to the Future, and Voyagers!.
Cancellation and reprieve
On May 10, 2017, NBC cancelled the series after one season. Three days later, following negotiations with Sony Pictures Television, NBC renewed the series for a ten-episode second season, which premiered on March 11, 2018. On June 22, 2018, NBC announced that the series had once again been cancelled, although the production of a possible two-hour movie finale to properly conclude the series was being discussed. On July 31, 2018, NBC announced it had ordered a two-part finale to properly conclude the series, which aired on December 20, 2018.
Lawsuit over concept
Ryan, Kripke, Sony Pictures Entertainment and NBCUniversal are being sued by Onza Entertainment for breach of contract and copyright infringement, claiming that the concept for Timeless is based on the Spanish series El ministerio del tiempo, which follows the adventures of a three-person team made up of two men and a woman who travel to the past with a view to preserving past events. In April 2015, Javier Olivares, one of the creators of El Ministerio del Tiempo, met with representatives of Gersh in the MIPTV audiovisual fair of Cannes. There, they discussed the possibility of developing an American version of the show. Gersh would later ask for a DVD copy of the first episode of the Spanish show, with english subtitles. Onza Partners, the Spanish production company, gave that DVD to the Gersh Agency, in hopes of working with them. Roy Ashton, from the Gersh Agency, wrote to Onza letting them know that they liked El Ministerio del Tiempo and wanted to work with them. Ashton also mentioned Eric Kripke and Ben Edlund as possible show runners. In August 2015, Deadline reported that NBC had bought a project called Time, created by Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan. At the same time, all negotiations regarding the American version of El Ministerio del Tiempo were dropped. That project went on to become Timeless, with its pilot episode airing in January 2016. The defendants responded to the suit in a November 23, 2016 filing, contending that shows about time travel are an established television genre, and that similarities between the two shows are generic, and largely based on the notion that the main characters will travel in time to effect some kind of change. A request to dismiss Onza's lawsuit by Sony was denied on February 15, 2017.
Release
Season 1 aired on NBC in the U.S. and on Global in Canada on Monday nights at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. Season 2 aired on NBC and Global on Sunday nights at 10 pm. EST/PST.. Episodes can also be streamed online through NBC and Global's respective websites, as well as on Netflix in some countries. Episodes can also be streamed on Hulu in the United States. Starting from December 14, 2016, it aired in the UK on E4 every Wednesday at 9:00 pm. UK time. The series also aired in Japan on AXN. Seasons 1, 2 and the finale are available on DVD.
Reception
Critical response
The first season of Timeless received generally positive reviews from television critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season an approval rating of 83%, with an average rating of 6.39 out of 10 based on reviews by forty critics. The site's critical consensus states, "Timeless is a fun throwback action series with a kooky premise worth watching, even if it is delivered clumsily at times." The second season fared significantly better, receiving a 100% rating, with an average rating of 8.43 based on fourteen reviews. Metacritic, which uses a normalized rating, gave the first season a score of 65 out of 100, based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". A 90% approval rating for the finale was reported by Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.83/10 based on 10 reviews, and a critical consensus reading, "A fitting farewell, Timeless wraps with a fun, festive finale that ties up loose ends and provides enough fan service to satisfy."
