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

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

romantic

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television series based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Audrey Niffenegger. 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 showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...

, who had previously taken inspiration from Niffenegger's novel for his work on the science fiction series '' Doctor Who''. It was directed by

David Nutter David Nutter (born 1960) is an American television and film director and television producer. He is best known for directing pilot episodes for television. In 2015, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Serie ...

, stars

Rose Leslie Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie (born 9 February 1987) is a Scottish actress who rose to fame as Gwen Dawson in the ITV drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and Ygritte in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. She starred as Maia Rindell for t ...

and

Theo James Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

, and premiered on HBO on May 15, 2022. The series received a generally negative reception, and 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 HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

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 chromosomal 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 who told her they were married in the future. Much like the novel on which it is based, the series raises questions about determinism,

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...

, and

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...

.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 Desmin Borges (born 1983/1984) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Edgar Quintero on the FX/FXX comedy-drama ''You're the Worst''. Borges grew up in Chicago and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater at DePaul University. ...

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

Jaime Ray Newman Jaime Ray Newman (born April 2, 1978) 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 fan ...

as Lucille Abshire * Taylor Richardson as Alicia Abshire * Peter Graham as Mark Abshire *

Kate Siegel Kate Gordon Siegelbaum, known professionally as Kate Siegel ( , born 9 August 1982), is an American actress and screenwriter. She is best known for her collaborations with her husband, filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in his films ''Oculus'' ...

as Annette DeTamble *

Josh Stamberg Joshua Collins Stamberg (born January 4, 1970) is an American actor. He was regular cast member in the Lifetime comedy-drama series ''Drop Dead Diva'' from 2009 to 2012, and later had recurring roles on '' Parenthood'', '' The Affair,'' and ''Wand ...

as Richard DeTamble *

Chelsea Frei Chelsea Frei is an American actress. She is known for portraying Bridget Moody in the American TV series ''The Moodys''. Early life Frei grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and received a BFA in acting from New York University. Career In 2017, ...

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

, based on the novel of the same name by Audrey Niffenegger, who is also set to executive produce alongside Sue Vertue and

Brian Minchin ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

. Production companies involved with the series include

Hartswood Films Hartswood Films is a British television production company founded by Beryl Vertue in 1979. They have also produced dramas such as '' Jekyll'', as well as documentaries, and the 1990s ITV/BBC sitcom ''Men Behaving Badly''. In 2009, Hartswood opened ...

and

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

. In February 2021,

and

were cast as the series leads. In April 2021,

and Natasha Lopez joined the main cast. Filming began on the series in May in New York and ended in October with some filming also taking place in Chicago.

has directed all six episodes. In May 2021, Caitlin Shorey, Everleigh McDonnell, Michael Park,

, Taylor Richardson, Peter Graham, Brian Altemus, Jason David,

, Chelsea Frei, Marcia DeBonis, Will Brill and Spencer House joined the cast of the series. The series premiered on May 15, 2022 and was canceled on July 1, soon after the season finished airing.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the series has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 26 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Anita Singh of ''

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

'' 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 CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

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 Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' 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 digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' 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 published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' 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 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 ...

'' 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 publish ...

'' 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 kind ...

, on October 18, 2022.

References

External links

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