''Time'' is a 2021 three-part TV drama written by

Jimmy McGovern James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...

, directed by Lewis Arnold, and starring

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

and

Stephen Graham Stephen Joseph Graham (born 3 August 1973) is a British actor. He is best known for playing Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in the film ''This Is England'' (2006) and its television sequels ''This Is England '86'' (2010), '' This Is England '88'' ( ...

. It was first broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 6 June 2021. In March 2022 the series was officially renewed for a second series.

Plot

Mark Cobden is newly imprisoned, consumed by guilt for his crime, and way out of his depth in the volatile world of prison life. He meets Eric McNally, an excellent prison officer doing his best to protect those in his charge. However, when one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness, Eric faces an impossible choice between his principles and his family.

Cast

as Mark Cobden *

as Eric McNally *James Nelson-Joyce as Johnno *

Nabil Elouahabi Nabil Elouahabi (born 6 February 1975), often credited as Nabil Elouhabi, is a British- Moroccan actor, known for his role as Tariq Larousi in ''EastEnders'' from 2003 to 2005, as Rashid "Gary" Mahmoon in "Strangers on the Shore" (the 2002 Chris ...

as Patterson *

Natalie Gavin Natalie Gavin (born 1988) is an English actress from Bradford, known for her roles in the BBC dramas ''Prisoners' Wives'' and ''The Syndicate,'' and the ITV drama '' Jericho''. Early life Gavin was born in Bradford. She grew up in the Bra ...

as Jardine *

Hannah Walters Hannah Walters is an English actress and producer. Career Walters began her acting career in 2006, with a small role in ''The Thieving Headmistress''. She followed this with appearances as Trudy in the Shane Meadows film ''This Is England'' a ...

as Sonia McNally *

Nadine Marshall Nadine Panchita Marshall (born 30 September 1972) is an English television, stage, and radio actress. Education and career She studied at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama and is best known for her performance as Sally in the British te ...

as Alicia Cobden *

Jack McMullen Jack Michael McMullen (born 22 February 1991) is an English actor and writer, best known for his roles in '' Waterloo Road'', ''Little Boy Blue'', '' Brookside'' and ''Grange Hill''. Early life Jack Michael McMullen was born in Liverpool on 22 ...

as Daniel * Sue Johnston as June Cobden * David Calder as John Cobden *

Jonathan Harden Jonathan Harden (born 1979) is an Irish actor and director. Early life Harden was born in Belfast in 1979, the son of an Irish father and American mother. Career Harden's most notable credits include the roles of Sean Rawlins in the crime drama ...

as Brendan Murphy *

Siobhan Finneran Siobhán Margaret Finneran (born 27 April 1966) is a British actress. She made her screen debut in the 1987 independent film ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'', and subsequently worked consistently in television drama including roles in ''Coronation Stre ...

as Marie-Louise *

Kadiff Kirwan Kadiff Kirwan (born 3 February 1989) is a British-Montserratian actor. He is known for his roles in several British television series, particularly ''Timewasters'', ''Chewing Gum'', ''Fleabag'', and '' The Stranger''. Early life and education Bo ...

as Pete *

Aneurin Barnard Aneurin Barnard (; ; born 8 May 1987) is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for playing Davey in ''Hunky Dory'', Claude in '' The Truth About Emanuel'', Bobby Willis in '' Cilla'', Tim in ''Thirteen'', King Richard III in '' The White Quee ...

as Bernard *Terence Maynard as Kavanagh/"Kav" *Kevin Harvey as Paul McAdams * Cal MacAninch as Galbraith *

Brian McCardie Brian McCardie is a Scottish actor and writer. Early life Brian McCardie attended St. Brendan’s, then St. Athanasius Primary Schools. He went on to Our Lady's High School in Motherwell. His parents moved from Motherwell to Carluke while ...

as Jackson Jones *

Michael Socha Michael Robert Socha (born 13 December 1987) is an English actor, known for his roles in the films ''This Is England'' and ''Summer'', and the television series ''This Is England '86'', '' '88'', '' '90'', '' Being Human'', '' Once Upon a Time ...

as Kenny Meadows *

Jason Done Jason Done (born 5 April 1973) is an English actor who appeared as Mordred in the 1998 TV miniseries ''Merlin'', opposite Sam Neill. He is best known for his role as Stephen Snow in ITV drama '' Where The Heart Is'' from 1999 to 2001 and Tom ...

as P.O. Banks *Lee Morris as Tom

Production

The wings and cells prison scenes were filmed at

HM Prison Shrewsbury HM Prison Shrewsbury was a Category B/C men's prison in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It was decommissioned in March 2013, and is now open to the public. The Victorian prison as seen today sits on top of the original Georgian prison, the ...

, a former prison which was decommissioned in 2013, however most of the filming took place in the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

City Region. The cameras moved to Liverpool to create the rest of the prison with a mash-up of courtrooms, police stations and education buildings, as well as exterior locations such as the

Silver Jubilee Bridge The Silver Jubilee Bridge (originally the Runcorn–Widnes Bridge or informally the Runcorn Bridge) crosses the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal at River Mersey#Runcorn Gap, Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Borough of Halton ...

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

and the

Southport Pier Southport Pier is a pleasure pier in Southport, Merseyside, England. Opened in August 1860, it is the oldest iron pier in the country. Its length of makes it the second-longest in Great Britain, after Southend Pier. Although at one time spa ...

Episodes

Reception

Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Lucy Mangan wrote: "The performances of Bean and Graham are, even though we have come to expect brilliance from them both, astonishing. So, too, are those from everyone in smaller roles, none of which is underwritten or sketchy, and who thicken the drama into something more profoundly moving and enraging at every turn". Billie Schwab Dunn, writing for ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'', praised the show, which was "elevated by the central performances – particularly Bean, who gently grounds us and provides a beam of light in all that darkness".

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Jimmy McGovern 2021 British television series debuts 2020s British drama television series 2020s British television miniseries BBC prison television shows Television series by BBC Studios Television shows set in England