Timewasters
A jazz quartet time-travels to confront racism with comedy.
Timewasters is a British science-fiction comedy television programme that first aired on ITV2 in 2017, with a second series in 2019. Created by Daniel Lawrence Taylor, it follows an unsuccessful all-black South London jazz quartet who time-travel to the 1920s and later the 1950s. The series is notable for addressing racism through comedic culture clashes and for satirizing historical dramas' lack of diversity.
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
- Series
- 2
Facts from the source article.
Production
Daniel Lawrence Taylor began developing the programme in 2015, wanting to write a comedy for young black actors inspired by shows such as The Inbetweeners, Drifters, and Plebs. While learning the trumpet, he decided to write about a black jazz band in the 1920s, and added time travel after acting on the post-apocalyptic romantic-comedy Cockroaches. His spec script, initially titled Black to the Future and later Blackwards, was eventually named Timewasters. Taylor worked with an editor from Big Talk Productions, which was producing Cockroaches for ITV, and improved the script over several drafts. The programme emerged amid discussions about increasing black talent on screen, and ITV commissioned a rehearsal reading after showing interest. The main cast was chosen through auditions; although they had not worked together before, they displayed quick chemistry, leading studio executives to believe they were longtime friends. Taylor collaborated with Barunka O'Shaughnessy to refine the humour and pacing for the first series. Filming took place in Liverpool, using Georgian architecture including the Liverpool Athenaeum and Martins Bank Building. Series director George Kane employed a cinematic look: modern scenes used fixed cameras, hard surfaces, fluorescent lights, and colour schemes absent in earlier periods, while past scenes used handheld cameras for unpredictability. The 1920s scenes had a cohesive colour palette, and the 1950s scenes emulated vivid Technicolor movies. Nick Foster and Oli Julian composed original music and arranged jazzy covers of modern songs; the cast took lessons to appear to play their instruments but do not perform any music in the series.
Themes
Central themes include race and injustices based on race, gender, and social status. Taylor stated that racism is ridiculous and enjoyed mining it for humour, setting the first series in the 1920s to provide distance for addressing racial issues. The programme challenges how black characters are portrayed in period dramas and draws comedy from the juxtaposition of past and present prejudices. It also finds humour in dark subject matter, and the rarity of an all-black central cast on British TV is noted, summed up by a pilot joke: 'People like us never get to time travel – it's what white people do, like skiing or brunch.'
Release and reception
The first series premiered on 9 October 2017 on ITV2, and the second series aired from 11 March to 8 April 2019 on ITV2. The first series was the most-viewed digital-channel comedy in 2017 for the 16–24 demographic in the UK. In North America, the programme premiered on CBC Gem in May 2020, with the second series available in September 2020; it premiered in the US on Amazon's IMDb TV on 11 June 2021. Critical response was generally favourable. Joel Keller of Decider recommended it for treating racism head on without taking itself too seriously. Homa Khaleeli of The Guardian noted it challenges archetypes and lack of diversity in period dramas. Cheryl Eddy of Gizmodo described it as a sharply satirical comedy that expertly draws humour from racism, praising the writing, music, and chemistry of the four lead actors. Melody McCune of Geek Girl Authority wrote that it deftly doles out social commentary on systemic racism. Angelica Guarino of Common Sense Media called it harmoniously ambitious, off-beat, and fast paced, encouraging parents to discuss racial issues with children. Noah Berlatsky of NBC News wrote that the comedy subverts heroic white narratives by using hypervisible outsider characters. Agathe Devionot of Just Focus praised the comic genius of the main cast and the collaboration between writer and director. The programme won Taylor the Breakthrough Award at the 2018 RTS Programme Awards, and was nominated for Best Scripted Comedy at the 2018 British Academy Television Awards. Taylor and O'Shaughnessy were also nominated for Best Comedy Writing on Television at the 2018 British Screenwriters' Awards.
Planned US remake
A US remake of Timewasters was initially discussed in 2019, with Taylor mentioning LL Cool J as a possible producer for CBS. By early 2021, the project moved to ABC under showrunner Lauren Ashley Smith, with Taylor, Kenton Allen, and Matthew Justice executive producing. Set in New York City, it aimed to compare the black experience in 2021 with that of the Harlem Renaissance in 1926. A pilot was planned for early 2021 after COVID-19 delays, but no press releases or reports after August 2021 indicate the production never moved forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who stars in Timewasters?
Timewasters stars Adelayo Adedayo, Daniel Lawrence Taylor, Kadiff Kirwan and Samson Kayo.
How many episodes of Timewasters are there?
Timewasters has 12 episodes across 2 seasons.
More in British Television Series About Time Travel
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