Time (2021 TV series)

Time is a British anthology drama television series created and co-written by Jimmy McGovern, with Helen Black. Each series presents a new scenario following the lives of inmates and staff in His Majesty's Prison Service. Its first series, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 June 2021 and concluded on 20 June 2021. Its second series, starring Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance and Bella Ramsey, was broadcast, also on BBC One, on 29 October 2023 and concluded on 12 November 2023.

The first series received largely positive reviews, with many praising the performances of the two leads. At the 2022 BAFTA TV Awards, the first series won Best Mini-Series and Bean won Best Actor, whilst Graham was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The second series received similarly positive reviews.

Series 1
Mark Cobden is newly imprisoned, consumed by guilt for his crime, and way out of his depth in the volatile world of prison life. He meets Eric McNally, an excellent prison officer doing his best to protect those in his charge. However, when one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness, Eric faces an impossible choice between his principles and his family.

Series 2
Orla, a single mother serving her first sentence, Abi, who is incarcerated for life, and Kelsey, a pregnant heroin addict and repeat offender, begin their respective sentences at a women's prison.

Main

 * Sean Bean as Mark Cobden
 * Stephen Graham as Eric McNally

Supporting

 * James Nelson-Joyce as Johnno
 * Siobhan Finneran as Marie-Louise O'Dell
 * Nabil Elouahabi as Patterson
 * Natalie Gavin as Jardine
 * Hannah Walters as Sonia McNally
 * Nadine Marshall as Alicia Cobden
 * Jack McMullen as Daniel
 * Sue Johnston as June Cobden
 * David Calder as John Cobden
 * Jonathan Harden as Brendan Murphy
 * Kadiff Kirwan as Pete
 * Aneurin Barnard as Bernard
 * Terence Maynard as Kavanagh/"Kav"
 * Kevin Harvey as Paul McAdams
 * Cal MacAninch as Galbraith
 * Brian McCardie as Jackson Jones
 * Michael Socha as Kenny Meadows
 * Jason Done as P.O. Banks
 * Lee Morris as Tom

Main

 * Jodie Whittaker as Orla O'Riordan
 * Tamara Lawrance as Abi Cochrane
 * Bella Ramsey as Kelsey "Kels" Morgan
 * Siobhan Finneran as Marie-Louise O'Dell

Supporting

 * Julie Graham as Lou Harkness
 * Nicholas Nunn as Adam Muller
 * Karen Henthorn as Elizabeth O'Riordan
 * Terri Reddin as Sonographer
 * Kayla Meikle as Donna Mills
 * Faye McKeever as Tanya Helsby
 * Sophie Willan as Maeve Riley
 * Alicia Forde as Sarah Duddy
 * James Corrigan as Rob Cochrane
 * Louise Lee as P.O. Carter
 * Lisa Millett as P.O. Martin
 * Isaac Lancel-Watkinson as Kyle O'Riordan
 * Brody Griffiths as Callum O'Riordan
 * Matilda Firth as Nancy O'Riordan
 * Danielle Henry as Tess Palmer
 * Alexandra Monaghan as Tash
 * Conor McCarry as Steven Harkness
 * Maimuna Memon as Tahani
 * Angela Wynter as May Sinclair
 * Cindy Humphrey as Faith

Production
Most of the filming of the first series took place in the Liverpool City Region, with the prison wings and cells filmed at HM Prison Shrewsbury, a former prison which was decommissioned in 2013. The cameras moved to Liverpool to create the rest of the prison using courtrooms, police stations and educational buildings, as well as exterior locations such as the Silver Jubilee Bridge in Widnes and Southport Pier.

Reception
Writing in The Guardian, Lucy Mangan wrote: "The performances of Bean and Graham are, even though we have come to expect brilliance from them both, astonishing. So, too, are those from everyone in smaller roles, none of which is underwritten or sketchy, and who thicken the drama into something more profoundly moving and enraging at every turn". Billie Schwab Dunn, writing for Metro, praised the show, which was "elevated by the central performances – particularly Bean, who gently grounds us and provides a beam of light in all that darkness".