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There’s so much to watch on television these days, and so little time to do so. From period pieces to modern dramas, the titles just keep stacking up. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a time machine? Or, even better — wouldn’t it be nice to watch a show featuring time travel? Enter Timeless (2016-2018), a show that originally aired on NBC and is currently available on Hulu. The show follows a trio consisting of a historian, an engineer, and a soldier sent traveling through time in search of a rogue enemy set on changing history as we know it. If you’re looking for a show that illuminates and critiques history — and has fun while doing it — read on for a mostly spoiler-free overview of why you should try this show.
Conspiracies And History And Time Travel, Oh My!: The Plot
As its name suggests, Timeless revolves around the concept of time travel. In the show’s pilot episode, historian Lucy Preston (Abigail Spencer) is summoned by Mason Industries, where she meets soldier Wyatt Logan (Matt Lanter) and Mason Industries technician Rufus Carlin (Malcolm Barrett). The team learns that Mason Industries has created a time machine, which was stolen earlier that day by Garcia Flynn (Goran Višnjić). Flynn has traveled to May 6, 1937, in order to meddle with the Hindenburg airship disaster, and the trio are tasked with going back in time to stop him with a prototype time machine, known as the ‘Lifeboat’ (( “Pilot.” Timeless Wiki at Fandom.com. )).
The pilot episode gives the audience a good sense of the series’ plot: the villain goes back in time, the team follows him, and when everyone returns to the present, history has been changed. In certain instances, these changes are small: after the team meets Ian Fleming in 1944, the spy and author of the James Bond novel series ends up writing a book based on the occasion, which the team learns about when they travel back to 2016 (( “Party at Castle Varlar.” Timeless Wiki at Fandom.com. )). Other times, the change is more impactful: after the team changes history by saving the Hindenburg, Lucy returns home to find that she is engaged to a stranger, her previously ill mother is perfectly healthy, and her sister doesn’t exist (( “Pilot.” Timeless Wiki at Fandom.com. )). While the first season revolves around the team’s quest to stop Flynn, the troubles in the Timeless universe go deeper than just one man. As the series goes on, the time-traveling trio realizes a bigger conspiracy, known as “Rittenhouse,” is behind the scenes. To say any more would ruin the fun, but the conspiracy plotline gives the series an interesting political twist that connects each moment the team visits.
Each team member is critical to their survival in the past: Rufus can drive and repair the time machine, Wyatt can keep the group safe, and Lucy can whip out her arsenal of historical facts to help the team blend in and find their target. Timeless gives a whole new meaning to being interested in history: knowing about the past is a ticket for success, and it’s refreshing to see a family-friendly show promote historical knowledge among its fans.
A Little Romance, A Little Fun
The show doesn’t forget about romantic intrigue, either, as Lucy and Wyatt start a will-they, won’t-they relationship hindered by Wyatt’s late wife’s tragic death. But there’s not just angst; Rufus and fellow technician Jiya Marri (Claudia Doumit)’s relationship is such a delight to see on screen. Though their relationship goes through troubles, especially when Jiya experiences some mysterious health anomalies, it’s nice to see the two of them get their moments to be happy and play video games together.
Another hallmark of the show’s unique style is its incorporation of modern-day pop culture, to hilarious effect. Characters use fake names whenever they travel to the past, like Rufus posing as “Denzel Washington” at the time of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination (( “The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln.” Timeless Wiki at Fandom.com. )) or Lucy taking the name “Taylor Swift” in the 1930s (( “The King of the Delta Blues.” Timeless Wiki at Fandom.com. )).
Possibly the most hilarious instance of this is when Rufus, pretending to be Langston Hughes in old Hollywood, is asked by actress Hedy Lamarr to recite a poem. Rufus gives a dramatic reading of the theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which doesn’t fool Hedy but is so much fun to watch. Little tidbits like this help connect the show’s past setting with its very present characters, plus it’s fun to think of what modern-day celebrity name you might choose if you had to disguise yourself in the 70s.
Diverse Stories And Characters
Timeless may have a focus on time travel, but its true heart lies in its appreciation and illumination of history in each episode. Season one includes an excellent feature on Black U.S. Marshall Bass Reeves, an inspiration for the “Lone Ranger” (( Truitt, Brian. “Timeless turns back the clock to focus on trailblazing women, icons of color in Season 2.” USA Today, 07 March 2018. )). However, season two is where the show hits its stride in portraying history in all its diversity. Executive producer Eric Kripke explained that the series wanted to “show American history isn’t ‘just a bunch of rich old white dudes,'” (( Truitt, Brian. “‘Timeless’ turns back the clock to focus on trailblazing women, icons of color in Season 2.” USA Today, 07 March 2018. )) and the second season’s stories highlight this intention. Historical figures featured in season two include Black blues guitarist Robert Johnson, actress and science innovator Hedy Lamar, and private investigator Grace Humiston (( Truitt, Brian. “Timeless turns back the clock to focus on trailblazing women, icons of color in Season 2.” USA Today, 07 March 2018. )). By shining a light on people often not featured in our collective imagining of the past, Timeless inspires audiences to learn more about these figures and how their actions affected the world we live in today.
The show doesn’t forget about some of the worst parts of American history, either. Part of this is due to the team’s makeup: Rufus is Black, and Lucy is a woman, meaning that going into the past isn’t quite as simple for them as it is for Wyatt, a white man. Rufus faces discrimination and Lucy faces sexism. While the show doesn’t get these issues perfect all of the time, its efforts to show rather than hide the prejudices of the past help Timeless become a show about how we move on — and how we haven’t, and in some cases, shouldn’t move on — from the past.
Also of note is Agent Denise Christopher (Sakina Jaffrey), a Homeland Security agent who becomes an ally of the team after she is called in to help stop Flynn. Agent Christopher is a lesbian, and her coming-out story is featured in one of the most emotional episodes of the show, “The Day Reagan Was Shot.” It’s a beautiful glimpse into the life of a character whose wife and children in the present day are continually portrayed as being so important to her. The episode is a tear-jerker, for sure.
A Passionate Fanbase And Cast
Timeless fans are well aware of the ups and downs of the television production cycle: the show was canceled twice in its short two-year run. After the first season concluded, Timeless was canceled by NBC in 2017 due to low ratings. However, three days later, the show’s distributor, Sony, was able to come up with a deal to keep the show on the air. The show was once again canceled after lackluster ratings of its second season, but was brought back for a two-part finale that would wrap up the show’s main storyline (( White, Abbey. “The Real Reason Timeless Was Canceled.” Looper, 11 June 2020. )). While not the ending that many fans hoped for, the finale episodes meant the show could say farewell with more than just a cliffhanger.
Fan hype for the series didn’t waver even in the face of cancellation and may have even played a role in bringing the series back for more. Prior to the show’s two-part finale announcement, Timeless fans — aka ClockBlockers — rented two helicopters to fly a banner over San Diego Comic-Con (( Brandow, Kim. “Timeless Fans Have Taken To The Skies To Get The Cancelled Show Back, Rufus Banner Flies Over SDCC.” Inquisitr, 21 July 2018. )). During the show’s finale, Rufus misspeaks and refers to a helicopter as a “heli-clock-ter,” paying homage to the “HeliCLOCKters” (a name Barrett came up with on social media, that fans then adopted) that flew over SDCC (( “The HeliCLOCKters.” SaveTimeless.com. )).
Even after the show ended, the cast reunited during the COVID-19 pandemic to offer fans the chance to revisit the characters they loved. Spencer, Barrett, and Lanter reunited to host an online watch party of fan-favorite episode “Hollywoodland,” and in January 2021, the same episode was reenacted in a live reading for charity with even more of the cast (( Flook, Ray. “Timeless Team Needs Clockblockers to Unite Once More for Great Cause.” Bleeding Cool, 5 January 2021. )). There is a lot of love for this show, both behind the camera and in front of the television.
Timeless Deserves Your Time
Timeless didn’t get a lot of time on the small screen, but its unique take on time travel resonated with a passionate fanbase, and its dips into history prove to be great starting points for those looking to learn more about our world and the people whose stories don’t get as much airtime. When you’re looking for your next series that wraps up the story well (with room for a potential continuation), take a Clockblocker’s word for it and give Timeless a try.
