Timewasters
A British sci-fi comedy about a time-traveling jazz quartet.
Timewasters is a British sci-fi comedy series that aired on ITV2, with its first season in 2018 and a second in 2020. Daniel Lawrence Taylor created the show and co-wrote it with Barunka O'Shaughnessy. It was produced for ITV Studios by Matthew Justice and others of Big Talk Productions, with all episodes directed by George Kane. The main cast includes Taylor, Adelayo Adedayo, Samson Kayo, and Kadiff Kirwan, playing the members of a struggling all-black jazz quartet from South London. They travel back in time to the 1920s and later the 1950s, visiting the Jazz Age and post-war cool jazz scene, where they navigate culture clashes in unfamiliar eras.
Critical reception was mostly positive, with reviewers praising how the show uses comedy to tackle racism by inserting modern characters into historical settings. It also became known for satirising period dramas and their typical lack of diversity. Critics highlighted the writing, direction, chemistry among the lead actors, and the music. Taylor won the Breakthrough Award at the 2018 Royal Television Society Programme Awards, and the series was nominated for Best Scripted Comedy at the 2018 British Academy Television Awards.
The main cast—the jazz quartet—consists of Daniel Lawrence Taylor as Nick Wolton (trumpet and bandleader), Kadiff Kirwan as Jason (saxophone), Adelayo Adedayo as Lauren Wolton (drums), and Samson Kayo as Horace Cunningham (trombone and vocals). Kayo also plays Horace's grandfather Aston in the series 2 premiere. Recurring characters include John Stoate as Homeless Pete, who operates the time machine; Kevin 'KG' Garry as Curtis; Joseph Quinn as Ralph; Liz Kingsman as Victoria (series 1); Anna Chancellor as Victoria (series 2); Frankie Wilson as Terry, a Teddy Boy leader; Kristy J Curtis as Rita, a Teddy Girl; Theo Barklem-Biggs as Len White, a club owner; Ellie White as Janice, a Russian spy; Oliver Wellington as JJ, Jason and Victoria's son; Clint Dyer as General Hands, a grifting jazz musician; Sam Douglas as Vadim, a Russian spy; and Daniel Simonsen as Alexei, a Russian spy.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Science-fiction · Comedy · Satire
- Creator
- Daniel Lawrence Taylor
- Writer
- Daniel Lawrence Taylor · Barunka O'Shaughnessy
- Director
- George Kane
- Starring
- Adelayo Adedayo · Daniel Lawrence Taylor · Kadiff Kirwan · Samson Kayo
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Num Series
- 2
- Num Episodes
- 12
- Camera
- Single-camera
- Company
- Big Talk Productions
- Network
- ITV2
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Timewasters was created by Daniel Lawrence Taylor, who began working on it in 2015. He wanted to write a comedy for young black actors and was inspired by shows like The Inbetweeners. Learning the trumpet led him to write about a black jazz band in the 1920s, and he added time travel while acting on Cockroaches. The working title was Black to the Future, later changed to Blackwards and then Timewasters. Taylor wrote a spec script and worked with an editor from Big Talk Productions; the script drew interest from ITV, which commissioned a rehearsal reading. The main cast—Taylor, Adelayo Adedayo, Samson Kayo, and Kadiff Kirwan—had quick chemistry despite not working together before. Taylor then collaborated with Barunka O'Shaughnessy to improve the humour and pacing for the first series.
The programme was shot in Liverpool, using Georgian architecture like the Liverpool Athenaeum and Martins Bank Building. Director George Kane employed a cinematic look: modern scenes used fixed-camera shots and fluorescent lights, while past scenes used handheld cameras. The 1920s had a cohesive colour palette, and the 1950s emulated Technicolor movies. Nick Foster and Oli Julian composed original music and arranged jazzy covers of modern songs; the cast took lessons to act like they could play but do not perform any music. Cover songs include 'Hey Ya!', 'Return of the Mack', and 'Back to Black' in series 1, and 'This Is How We Do It' in series 2.
Central themes are race and injustices based on race, gender, and social status. Taylor stated that 'racism is ridiculous' and mined it for humour, setting the first series in the 1920s to provide distance. Critics noted the show challenges how black characters are portrayed in period dramas and draws comedy from juxtaposing past and present prejudices. The programme premiered on 9 October 2017 on ITV2; the second series aired 11 March to 8 April 2019. The first series was the most-viewed digital-channel comedy in 2017 for the 16–24 demographic in the UK. It streamed in North America on CBC Gem in 2020 and in the US on IMDb TV in 2021.
Reader's Guide
Timewasters is significant for its original approach to addressing racism through comedy, inserting modern characters into historical settings to highlight culture clashes and satirize the lack of diversity in period dramas. Critical response was generally favourable, with praise for its writing, direction, chemistry of the main cast, and music. The programme challenged archetypes and systemic racism in life and media, with reviewers noting it subverts heroic white narratives and uses outsider underdog characters. Taylor won the Breakthrough Award at the 2018 Royal Television Society Programme Awards, and the series was nominated for Best Scripted Comedy at the 2018 British Academy Television Awards. Its legacy includes being a rare all-black central cast on British TV and using humour to tackle serious topics, as noted by critics who encouraged discussions about racial issues. The show's blend of time travel, jazz, and social commentary made it a distinctive entry in British comedy.
Did You Know?
- The working title for Timewasters was Black to the Future, later changed to Blackwards.
- The main cast took lessons to act like they could play their instruments but do not perform any music in the series.
- The programme was shot in Liverpool, using the Liverpool Athenaeum and Martins Bank Building.
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