‘Time Bandits’ Team Compares Series to Original Movie — Plus, Watch Sneak Peek (VIDEO)

Emily Aslanian July 23, 2024, 2:00 pm

Adventure awaits in Time Bandits, Apple TV+‘s 10-episode fantasy dramedy, based on the 1981 family flick, from What We Do in the Shadows duo Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement.

Misunderstood Kevin Haddock (Kal-El Tuck), an 11-year-old history nerd, gets wrapped up in the escapades of wacky time-traveling outlaws—led by the hilariously arrogant Penelope (Lisa Kudrow)—when they step through a trans-temporal portal into Kevin’s bedroom. (See our exclusive clip of the hilarious moment, above.) Penelope and her thieving gang are planning their first heist while on the run from their former employer, the Supreme Being. The series also stars Tadhg Murphy (Conversations with Friends), Roger Jean Nsengiyumva (You Don’t Know Me), Rune Temte (Eddie the Eagle), Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up), Rachel House (Heartbreak High), Kiera Thompson (Martyrs Lane), James Dryden (Ready Player One), Felicity Ward (The Office Australia), Francesca Mills (Harlots), and Imaan Hadchiti (Thor: Love and Thunder).

Together, Kevin and the Bandits will marvel at Stonehenge and the Ice Age, sail with a fearless Chinese pirate queen, and visit the Harlem Renaissance. Despite the series fully shooting in New Zealand, “I don’t ever need to travel again,” says Kudrow with a laugh. “When you go to a museum, you have to stand back behind the railing—we got to jump into it.”

But the best part of Kevin and the Bandits’ onscreen adventures is seeing the lonesome kid, who is dismissed regularly by his parents and fellow classmates, bond with his new found family. In time, even the bossy, hardened Penelope softens her affections towards the curious youngster. “Kevin realizes Penelope can be someone he can look up to—someone he can trust,” says Tuck.

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For longtime collaborators and executive producers Waititi and Clement, who each play surprise roles in the upcoming episodes, one of the show’s goals was to capture the comedic style of the original, which was co-written by Monty Python members Michael Palin and Gilliam, with Gilliam directing. “I think a lot of the jokes feel really similar,” says Waititi of the banter-filled script. “It seems like such a Monty Python-esque style.”

That said, anyone who remembers the original flick might’ve been traumatized by the ending (and that toaster scene!). “It’s less dark for sure,” promises Clement. “But some people will want it to be dark like the movie. For me, [as a kid], it was dark in an exciting way. But also [I asked], is that the end? We’ve sort of started from that point.”

Don’t forget to check out our exclusive clip from Apple TV+’s Time Bandits premiere episode above.

Time Bandits, Series Premiere, Wednesday, July 24, Apple TV+