Jodie Whittaker Stars In The Second Series Of Acclaimed BBC Drama Time
The BBC’s made some great miniseries in the past couple of years, from the acclaimed The Gold this year, to last year’s Marriage but one that slightly flew under the radar was the brilliantly written Time, a three-part drama focusing on prison life. The Sean Bean and Stephen Graham starring series revolved around feeling remorse for committing crime and the volatile nature of living in prison, and received glowing reviews from critics for its acting and writing. It makes sense then that the BBC has greenlit a second series, with a new cast led by Jodie Whittaker and Bella Ramsay.
The two main roles of Mark Cobden (Bean) and Eric McNally (Graham) might’ve been one of the biggest reasons why the first series of Time was so good, but a new setting and characters should hopefully keep things fresh. Graham is busy filming the BBC’s sequel series to Boiling Point and Bean went on to lead the aforementioned Marriage– so Whittaker, who’s final scenes as The Doctor were broadcast late last year, is stepping in to lead this new story. Ramsey meanwhile was lauded for her role as apocalypse survivor Ellie in The Last of Us, and will play Kelsey. The Silent Twins star Tamara Lawrance rounds out the main trio as Abi. Series 2 is set in an all-female prison and sees the three inmates all arrive on the same day.
There’s still a fair amount unknown about the second series and its plot, and whether there’ll be an equivalent to Graham’s tough but empathetic prison officer Eric. The three women are incarcerated and find a shared sense of community and understanding, despite the threat of violence within Carlingford Prison. Ramsey commented “I’m very happy to be a part of this project, working with an incredible team and following on from a stellar first season” while Lawrance spoke of the show’s social commentaries: “Time Series 2 humanises a sector of society that is too often and easily vilified by elucidating the layered reasons why people end up in the criminal (in)justice system. I’m excited for us to platform the complexity of these characters and their experiences.”
You’ll have to wait a while for more info, as the BBC has yet to announce a release date yet (it seems likely that it’ll arrive on our screens at some point next year), but with a lead like Whittaker, Ramsey and Lawrance, Time Series 2 seems poised to be as good a show as the first. In the meantime, you can watch the three-part Series 1 over on iPlayer.