“Time Bandits” has been canceled by Apple TV+ after one season, Variety has confirmed.
The fantasy series, starring Lisa Kudrow, follows a group of thieves and their newest recruit — an 11-year-old boy named Kevin (Kal-El Tuck) — hopping across time and space to plunder riches. Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris and Taika Waititi created the series adaptation of Terry Gilliam’s 1981 cult classic, with Clement and Morris serving as co-showrunners.
Along with Kudrow and Tuck, the cast includes Tadhg Murphy, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Charlyne Yi, Rune Temte, Rachel House, Kiera Thompson, James Dryden, Felicity Ward, Francesca Mills and Imaan Hadchiti.
Clement, Morris and Waititi wrote and directed select episodes of “Time Bandits” Season 1; they also executive produced alongside Garrett Basch, Jane Stanton for Handmade Films and Tim Coddington. The now-defunct Paramount TV Studios produced with Anonymous Content’s AC Studios and MRC Television.
In July, Morris spoke to Variety about introducing “Time Bandits” to a new audience.
“I think ‘Time Bandits’ is actually almost the lost classic,” he said. “You mention it to a lot of people and they’ve never heard of it, but you meet other people and it’s their favorite film. But they are quite rare. So if you’re bringing these brilliant ideas that people have and these brilliant worlds, and expanding and changing and introducing them to a new audience, I think it’s great. Some of the best songs ever made are cover versions.”
News of the cancellation comes less than a month after “Time Bandits” completed its run on Apple TV+. The 10-episode first season premiered with two episodes on July 24 and released two new episodes weekly through Aug. 21.
