| The Time Traveler's Wife | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Based on | The Time Traveler's Wife byAudrey Niffenegger |
| Developed by | Steven Moffat |
| Written by | Steven Moffat |
| Directed by | David Nutter |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Blake Neely |
| Country of origin |
|
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Peter Menzies Jr. |
| Editors |
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| Running time | 45–56 minutes[2][3] |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | May 15 (2022-05-15) – June 19, 2022 (2022-06-19) |
The Time Traveler's Wife is ascience fictionromanticdrama[1] television series based on the 2003novel of the same name byAudrey Niffenegger.[1] The series was developed and written bySteven Moffat, who had previously taken inspiration from Niffenegger's novel for his work onDoctor Who.[4] It was directed byDavid Nutter, starsRose Leslie andTheo James, and premiered onHBO on May 15, 2022.[5] The series was canceled after one season in July 2022.[6] The fans of the show started a petition to save the series by approaching other streaming platforms to pick it up for renewal.[7] It was removed fromHBO Max in December 2022.[8]
Blending romance and science fiction,[1] the series follows the relationship between Henry DeTamble, a man with agenetic disorder which causes him to sporadicallytravel 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.[9] Much like the novel on which it is based, the series raises questions aboutdeterminism,free will, andidentity.[10]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Teleplay by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode One" | David Nutter | Steven Moffat | May 15, 2022 (2022-05-15) | 0.294[11] |
| 2 | "Episode Two" | David Nutter | Steven Moffat | May 22, 2022 (2022-05-22) | 0.224[12] |
| 3 | "Episode Three" | David Nutter | Steven Moffat | May 29, 2022 (2022-05-29) | 0.159[13] |
| 4 | "Episode Four" | David Nutter | Steven Moffat | June 5, 2022 (2022-06-05) | 0.245[14] |
| 5 | "Episode Five" | David Nutter | Steven Moffat | June 12, 2022 (2022-06-12) | 0.213[15] |
| 6 | "Episode Six" | David Nutter | Steven Moffat | June 19, 2022 (2022-06-19) | 0.203[16] |
On July 31, 2018, it was announced thatHBO had given the production a straight-to-series order. The series was set to be written bySteven Moffat, based on thenovel of the same name byAudrey Niffenegger, who was also set to executive produce alongsideSue Vertue andBrian Minchin. Production companies involved with the series includedHartswood Films andWarner Bros. Television.[9][17][18]
In February 2021,Rose Leslie andTheo James were cast as the series leads.[19] In April,Desmin Borges and Natasha Lopez joined the main cast.[20] In May, Caitlin Shorey, Everleigh McDonnell,Michael Park,Jaime Ray Newman, 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.[21]
Filming began on the series in May 2021 inNew York and ended in October with some filming also taking place in Chicago.David Nutter directed all six episodes.[22]
The series premiered on May 15, 2022[23] and was canceled on July 1, soon after the season finished airing.[6]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 37% of 46 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "While it's easy to get swept up in the romance of performers as appealing as Rose Leslie and Theo James,The Time Traveler's Wife often kills the mood with its overdetermined conceit."[24]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[25]
Anita Singh ofThe Daily Telegraph 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."[26] Brian Lowry ofCNN called the series "an admirable effort, but one that simply underscores how unadaptable this material might be".[27] Angie Han ofThe Hollywood Reporter 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 keepThe Time Traveler's Wife from ever quite rising to the level of swoon-worthy."[28] Darren Franich ofEntertainment Weekly gave it a D grade, saying that it had "Bad wigs, limp characterization, indifferent plotting".[29]
Dan Einav of theFinancial Times 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."[30] Lucy Mangan ofThe Guardian 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.[31] Nick Hilton ofThe Independent 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."[32]
The complete series was released onDVD, on October 18, 2022.[33]
