‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ Boss Talks the Series’ Fresh Take on the Love Story

He’s a dashing librarian. She’s a gifted artist. But in this six-episode adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s revered novel, the meeting and subsequent love story of Henry DeTamble (Theo James, Sanditon) and Clare Abshire (Rose Leslie, Game of Thrones) is anything but typical.

Cursed with a genetic disorder that makes him time travel unwillingly, Henry often finds himself propelled into the past or future without even the clothes on his back. It’s dangerous, but his one huge chunk of luck is the universe sending him Clare. (She’s actually known Henry since childhood, when his future self was her “imaginary friend.”)

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First Look: Theo James & Rose Leslie in HBO's 'The Time Traveler's Wife'

The time travel element is “a prism through which we see a tale of ordinary love. By scrambling it all up, it becomes fresh and joyous and sometimes frightening and tragic,” says The Time Traveler’s Wife exec producer Steven Moffat, a self-proclaimed “massive fan” of the book.

Still, this couple’s relationship has a time limit, as fate looms over them. “You need that drumbeat of doom that Audrey’s prose provides,” says Moffat, adding, “I hope I’ve found a way of conveying that visually, right from the first episode. You won’t miss it!”

The Time Traveler’s Wife, TBA, HBO

This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2022 Preview issue. For more inside scoop on what’s coming to TV and streaming in the new year, pick up the issue, on newsstands.