''The Time Traveler's Wife'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

romantic

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television limited series based on the 2003 novel of the same name by

Audrey Niffenegger Audrey Niffenegger (born June 13, 1963) is an American writer, artist, and academic. Her debut novel, '' The Time Traveler's Wife'', published in 2003, was a bestseller. Biography Audrey Niffenegger was born in 1963 in South Haven, Michigan. At ...

. The series was developed and written by

Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television ser ...

, who had previously taken inspiration from Niffenegger's novel for his work on ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. It was directed by David Nutter, stars

Rose Leslie Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie (born 9 February 1987) is a Scottish actress. She portrayed Gwen Dawson in the ITV (TV network), ITV drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and Ygritte in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. She played Maia Rindell ...

and

Theo James Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis (born 16 December 1984) is an English actor. He gained recognition for playing Tobias Eaton in '' The Divergent Series'' film trilogy (2014–2016). He has starred in the horror films '' Underworld: Awak ...

, and premiered on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

on May 15, 2022. The series was canceled after one season in July 2022. The fans of the show started a petition to save the series by approaching other streaming platforms to pick it up for renewal. It was removed from

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

in December 2022. Blending romance and science fiction, the series follows the relationship between Henry DeTamble, a man with a

genetic disorder A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosome abnormality. Although polygenic disorders ...

which causes him to sporadically travel through time for short periods, and Clare Abshire, a woman who met an older version of Henry when she was a girl and whom Henry would eventually marry in the future. Much like the novel on which it is based, the series raises questions about

determinism Determinism is the Metaphysics, metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes ov ...

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

, and identity.Falk D ''In Search of Time: The Science of a Curious Dimension'' (New York: Macmillan, 2008), 197.

Cast and characters

Main

as Clare Abshire ** Everleigh McDonell as young Clare ** Caitlin Shorey as pre-teen Clare *

as Henry DeTamble ** Jason David as young Henry ** Brian Altemus as teen Henry

Recurring

* Desmin Borges as Gomez * Natasha Lopez as Charisse * Michael Park as Philip Abshire *

Jaime Ray Newman Jaime Ray Newman (born ) is an American actress, producer and singer. She is known for starring as Kristina Cassadine in the soap opera ''General Hospital'', Mindy O'Dell in the drama series ''Veronica Mars'', Kat Gardener in the fantasy series ...

as Lucille Abshire * Taylor Richardson as Alicia Abshire * Peter Graham as Mark Abshire * Kate Siegel as Annette DeTamble * Josh Stamberg as Richard DeTamble * Chelsea Frei as Ingrid * Marcia DeBonis as Nell * Will Brill as Ben * Spencer House as Jason * Finn Brown as young Mark Abshire

Episodes

Production

On July 31, 2018, it was announced that

had given the production a straight-to-series order. The series was set to be written by

, based on the novel of the same name by

, who was also set to executive produce alongside Sue Vertue and Brian Minchin. Production companies involved with the series included Hartswood Films and Warner Bros. Television. In February 2021,

and

were cast as the series leads. In April, Desmin Borges and Natasha Lopez joined the main cast. In May, Caitlin Shorey, Everleigh McDonnell, Michael Park,

, Taylor Richardson, Peter Graham, Brian Altemus, Jason David, Kate Siegel, Josh Stamberg, Chelsea Frei, Marcia DeBonis, Will Brill and Spencer House joined the cast of the series. Filming began on the series in May 2021 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and ended in October with some filming also taking place in Chicago. David Nutter directed all six episodes. The series premiered on May 15, 2022 and was canceled on July 1, soon after the season finished airing.

Critical reception

Anita Singh of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' gave the series 2/5 stars, calling it "so lazy that episodes begin with the lead characters reading lines straight into the camera, rather than anyone making the effort to work them into the script." Brian Lowry of

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

called the series "an admirable effort, but one that simply underscores how unadaptable this material might be". Angie Han of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' criticized the setup of the romance, and added: "while things do improve from there, hollow characters, an uncertain tone and, most damningly, a total lack of chemistry keep ''The Time Traveler's Wife'' from ever quite rising to the level of swoon-worthy." Darren Franich of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' gave it a D grade, saying that it had "Bad wigs, limp characterization, indifferent plotting". Dan Einav of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' gave the series 3/5 stars, writing: "The show is buoyed by the charisma of the two lovers, and it succeeds in mining its conceit for some gentle humour and reflections on love and loss." Lucy Mangan of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' also gave it 3/5 stars, saying that Moffat "takes the melodrama down a notch and salts the schmaltz with wit where he can", but criticized the nature of the romance and Clare's passivity. Nick Hilton of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' also gave it 3/5 stars, writing: "''The Time Traveler's Wife'' does not have the power of the unexpected. But it has a modest, formulaic appeal that will likely keep you going back (and back) for more."

Home media

The complete series was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

, on October 18, 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Time Traveler's Wife (TV series), The 2020s American drama television series 2020s American romance television series 2020s American science fiction television series 2020s British drama television series 2020s British romance television series 2020s British science fiction television series 2020s romantic drama television series 2022 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings 2022 British television series debuts 2022 British television series endings American romantic drama television series British romantic drama television series American time travel television series British time travel television series British English-language television shows HBO television dramas Nonlinear narrative television series Television series by Hartswood Films Television series by Home Box Office Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series created by Steven Moffat Television shows based on American novels Television shows set in Chicago Television shows filmed in Illinois Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows written by Steven Moffat Works by David Nutter Audrey Niffenegger