15 best time travel TV series

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Dark thrillers, witty comedies, costume melodramas and a project that has been running for over 50 years.

15. Make history

• USA, 2017.
• Comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

Loser Dan finds himself in 1775, strikes up a relationship with a girl and accidentally changes history. Returning to the present, he takes on the help of a college professor and again goes to the past to fix everything. But it only gets worse.

This comedy series, although it features many historical figures, does not at all try to follow any serious logic. The heroes even have a magic sleeping bag instead of a time machine. Alas, not everyone appreciated the humor of the creators, and the project was closed after the first season.

14. Continuum

• USA, 2012-2015.
• Science fiction, action, thriller.
• Duration: 4 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

A group of terrorists from 2077 comes up with technology to take over the world. On the eve of the execution, they move to 2012, where they want to expand their activities. Police officer Kira Cameron is sent after them. With the support of young computer genius Alec Sadler, she must thwart the plans of the criminals.

The start of the series proved to be a major success for the Canadian channel Showcase - the pilot episode was watched by a record number of viewers. Continuum has been successfully screened for several years. But since the third season, the authors have complicated the plot too much, and the popularity of the project has fallen dramatically. As a result, the finale was reduced to six episodes.

13. Out of time

• USA, 2016–2018.
• Science fiction, action, adventure.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The villain Garcia Flynn steals the time machine, wanting to destroy the United States before the country even appears. To do this, he moves to crucial moments of the past and tries to kill certain people. He is followed by historian Lucy Preston, military man Wyatt Logan, and scholar Rufus Carlin. They are trying to prevent Flynn's crimes and get history back on track. But every action also affects the future of the heroes themselves.

A fantastic project from the creator of "Supernatural" Eric Kripke shows a perfectly twisted plot, which well disclosed the paradoxes of time travel. The only problem with this show is the small budgets. Therefore, the special effects are often poor.

12. Terminator: Battle for the Future

• USA, 2008-2009.
• Science fiction, action, thriller.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

After the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Sarah Connor and her son John again face robots from the future. One of them is sent to kill a teenager. The second in the guise of a woman arrives to protect him. Together, the heroes move forward several years. There they are trying to destroy the Skynet company and finally undo the apocalypse.

Absolutely all full-length sequels of the second "Terminator" are considered unsuccessful. But the series, although filmed quite simply, is much more entertaining than most of the films in the franchise. Here, the movement of heroes to America, which has changed over eight years, is curiously shown. And the relationship between John and the terminator girl is also developing interestingly. In addition, the role of Sarah Connor in the series was played by Lena Headey - now she is known as Cersei from Game of Thrones.

11.12 monkeys

• USA, 2015-2018.
• Science fiction, drama, thriller.
• Duration: 4 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

By the middle of the 21st century, the deadly virus killed a significant part of the population, and drove the rest underground. Scientists know that the first outbreak occurred in 2015. They then decide to send inmate James Cole back in time to find "patient zero." For the hero, this should become an atonement before the law, and for the whole world - salvation.

The series is based on the plot of the film of the same name with Bruce Willis. But gradually the action moves further and further from the original: the heroes travel into the past and the future, change history and even get involved in political affairs.

10. Man of the future

• USA, 2017 - present.
• Comedy, fantasy.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Shy and clumsy Josh Futurman works as a janitor at a research center, and spends all his free time in his favorite video game about the post-apocalyptic future. But suddenly he finds out that everything that happens on the screen is real. The main characters of the game appear in Josh's room. They argue that only he can save the world and therefore must travel with them to the past.

"The Man of the Future" was created by longtime partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, which determines the atmosphere of what is happening on the screen. This couple has excellent black humor, which often goes beyond the bounds of decency. The plot has both great irony over the past and crazy alternatives for the future. But in addition, the authors managed to create a nostalgic project with many references to classic films.

9. Quantum Leap

• USA, 1989-1993.
• Science fiction, drama, adventure.
• Duration: 5 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Dr. Samuel Beckett invented a machine that allows time travel. Unfortunately, the tests were unsuccessful: the hero began to fall into the bodies of various people in the past. To move on, Beckett has to fix something in each of their lives. Only a hologram of a friend who remains in the present helps him. But Beckett does not give up hope of returning home.

Most of the episodes of this series are built according to the same scheme: the main character enters the body of another person in the past and thinks how to help him. But this approach allowed actor Scott Bakula to show dozens of different looks. After five seasons, the show was canceled without any explanation for the ending. An alternative ending was found by Quantum Leap Lost Ending Footage NEVER BEFORE SEEN only 26 years later.

8. Travelers

• USA, 2016–2018.
• Fantastic.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

In the future, a global catastrophe destroyed most of the world's population. But scientists have found a way to travel into the past: they move into the bodies of people before they should die. Thus, the heroes are trying to correct the mistakes of mankind and save the planet from extinction.

The characters of the series have a kind of code that they must follow as they travel back in time. For example, you cannot kill people or save them from death, if there is no direction to do so. And also contact travelers from other teams. This approach is reminiscent of the classic time travel storytelling used by Ray Bradbury.

7. Ministry of Time

• Spain, 2015 - present.
• Science fiction, comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 4 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

A secret institution has long existed in Spain. Using the "doors of time", its employees can move to different eras in order to prevent changes in the past. In the center of the plot is a team of a modern ambulance driver, a girl from the 19th century and a soldier who was sentenced to death in 1569.

It's funny that in the Spanish TV series, saving the world is side by side with discussions of completely mundane issues. Even those who travel back in time and fix the past may be unhappy with their paycheck or dream of a vacation. And it's also nice that this series is primarily dedicated to the history of Spain. After all, not all important events take place in the United States.

6. 11.22.63

• USA, 2016.
• Science fiction, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

Charming teacher Jake Epping from our day gets the opportunity to go back in time to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. True, the portal takes him to a certain day, and therefore Jake will have to live in the past for several years. But time itself strongly resists change.

The miniseries starring James Franco is based on the Stephen King novel. Moreover, the author of the original did not hide the fact that for the most part he turned out to be just a nostalgic work about the 60s. This is what they tried to convey in the film adaptation. That is why "11.22.63" can be viewed not only as a fantasy about time travel, but also simply as a retro-detective.

5. Life on Mars

• UK, 2006-2007.
• Drama, crime, fantasy.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

British police inspector Sam Tyler from modern Manchester is hit by a car while chasing a criminal. When he wakes up, he realizes that he has moved to 1973. At first, Tyler thinks he is in a coma or has gone insane. But gradually he recognizes the reality and goes to work for the police.

The BBC project turned out to be very popular, and therefore soon in other countries they began to release their own remakes. First, a project of the same name appeared in the United States. And then the TV series "The Other Side of the Moon" was released in Russia. True, all copies were not very successful. But the original was even filmed as a spin-off "Ashes to Ashes" about a police woman who ends up in the 80s after being wounded.

4. Cancellation

• USA, 2019 - present.
• Science fiction, drama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

Alma is mired in a routine life and really misses her father, who died 20 years ago. After a car accident, the girl ends up in the hospital and realizes that she can move at arbitrary times. And her deceased father asks Alma to help him escape.

Amazon streaming service and the author of the legendary BoJack Horseman Rafael Bob-Waksberg did something very unusual. They filmed a series with live actors, and then turned it into animation using rotoscoping technology. As a result, viewers saw insane distortions of space and movement in time, which are possible only in cartoons. And yet great actors show real emotional drama.

3. Outlander

• USA, UK, 2014 - present.
• Science fiction, drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 5 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

Claire Randall serves as a nurse during World War II. While walking, she strangely moves to the 18th century. In the past, she meets the charming military man Jamie Fraser and falls in love with him.

The series is based on a series of novels by Diana Gabaldon. And the plot very well combines time travel fiction with classic costume drama. Moreover, from the second season, the life of the heroine becomes more and more confused: she is in love with two men from different eras.

2. Doctor Who

• UK 2005 - present.
• Science fiction, adventure, comedy.
• Duration: 12 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

The last representative of the Time Lords race from the planet Gallifrey named Doctor travels to different eras and planets. His time machine looks like an old English police box. And the Doctor usually takes earthlings from our time as satellites. Together, they save entire worlds from evil aliens and watch various historical events.

Most modern viewers have started watching Doctor Who in 2005, when the series was restarted and the seasons were reset. In fact, this project is already more than half a century old, it started back in 1963. But now the old series look somewhat naive and only true fans are familiar with them.

1. Darkness

• Germany, USA, 2017 - present.
• Science fiction, horror, detective.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

In a small town not far from a nuclear power plant, two children disappear. Soon after these events, a stranger appears out of nowhere, somehow related to the incident. All this gives rise to a chain of fantastic events related to the lives of several families.

The German TV series from Netflix is one of the most intricate time travel projects. The action unfolds in parallel in the past and present. And then other lines are added. Moreover, events at different times affect each other, changing the lives of all characters. You need to watch very carefully.