‘Time Bandits’ program reinvigorates Monty Python film with ensemble led by Lisa Kudrow

LOS ANGELES – Adapting a cult classic film into a television series is a difficult task, but for Lisa Kudrow and his collaborators on “Time Bandits,” that challenge just meant there was more room for exploration.

“The series version of a movie means you’re going to expand and really go into more detail about that world, and that’s what excites me,” Kudrow said in a recent interview with the Associated Press. “It was very funny.”

“Time Bandits,” an Apple TV+ series that begins streaming July 24, is based on the 1981 film of the same name, directed by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam and co-written by him and frequent collaborator Michael Palin. Both the film and series follow a ragtag band of time-traveling thieves, led by Kudrow as Penelope, who join forces with their newest recruit – an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin – as they travel through time on a mission to Save the boy’s parents from evil forces.

Although the series remains faithful to several important details and parts of the source material, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, who created the series with Iain Morris, said it was important to them that the show didn’t feel like a rip-off of the film.

“We had to be different so we didn’t just steal or track what they had,” Clement said.

In the biggest departure from the original film, the bad guys are not played by actors with dwarfism — a move the duo said was quickly criticized by the dwarfism community when casting was announced early in the show’s development. Abbie Purvisgranddaughter of original film actor Jack Purvis, took to TikTok to condemn the casting, saying “for a generation that is so into talking about inclusion and diversity and making sure everyone listens, this whole casting seems absurd.”

Waititi said he and his co-writers initially wrote the script with some of the main cast as people with dwarfism, but he doesn’t think the film “should be defined by the presence of little people in it.”

Ultimately, they cast different actors. Clement said the creative team struggled with the casting decision, referring to “two big sides to this debate”: “Whether it’s okay to stereotype little people as magical creatures and also whether by not doing so you’re cutting jobs for actors.” minors.”

After the casting announcement, Clement said that they “reacted to these complaints and added roles for some minor actors”, saying that if the series were renewed for a second season, these roles would be given greater prominence.

Waititi and Clement appear in the series in recurring roles. The duo is known for their work on “What we do in the shadows” – a film and an FX series – and Waititi has also directed and appeared in major films, including “Jojo Coelho” it’s two “Thor” films.

The child actor holding the show as Kevin is Kal-El Tuck, who appeared in several short films before being cast as the series’ main character. He said he didn’t watch the original film because he didn’t want it to influence his performance.

“I wanted to be my Kevin, no one else’s Kevin,” Tuck said. “I wanted to be my way of doing Kevin.”

Kudrow praised her young co-star, calling him a “generous actor” and noting that many of the jokes and banter between the bad guys were improvised. O “Friends” alum also said she was initially nervous to work on the project.

“I was, of course, scared, like ‘Uh oh, they’re going to think they made a mistake,’ because you can’t help it, you have that insecurity, and ‘Do I have the right tone for this?’ and all that, but it was really fun,” Kudrow said, noting that she felt like she was “playing around” on set.

Although it departs from the beloved film, “Time Bandits” brings the story to a new generation and strives to honor the humor and heart of the original.

“There’s always pressure to do anything, but we don’t want to anger the fans of the original film, of course,” Clement said before Waititi joked, “We’re afraid of the fans.”