The networks are revealing their new shows at the upfronts this week, and three of them, believe it or not, are about time travel. But so far only one has a flaming Nazi zeppelin, so NBC’s Timeless has a clear advantage; it’s no surprise it’s been ordered to series, as Deadline reported Friday. Eric Kripke (Supernatural) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield) created the show, about a scientist, a soldier, and a history professor chasing a fugitive across American history. Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, and Malcolm Barrett star, and now there’s a trailer, with the highest airship factor of any upcoming show. (This is sort of a tradition with NBC; Chicago’s WLS was an NBC affiliate.)
The mismatched team is supposed to catch their man while affecting the past as little as possible, so a scene where Barrett tells a racist cop about Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, and Mike Tyson seems like a bad idea. (On the other hand, Barrett has clearly travelled back in time to steal Louis C.K.’s bit about black people and time machines, so maybe he’s just generally cavalier about the butterfly effect.) Judging from the trailer, their journey will take them to a wide variety of historically important locations, from backlots to sound stages to green screens. Still, this could be really fun: It’s got a zeppelin.
