Apple TV’s Failed Sci-Fi Experiment Makes a Surprise Return to Streaming Charts

From its inception, Apple TV+ showed a clear fondness for science fiction, with its first originals, For All Mankind, starring Joel Kinnaman, and See, led by Jason Momoa, setting the tone early. In the years since, Apple has doubled down with fan-favorite hits like Severance, Silo, and Foundation, and has become the go-to platform for an eclectic collection of sci-fi titles. However, not every gamble has paid off, with one major miss being Taika Waititi’s Time Bandits, a reimagining of Terry Gilliam’s 1981 cult classic. The remake had all the right ingredients on paper, but didn’t quite land with audiences, leading to its cancellation after one season. But in a twist straight out of a time-travel story, Time Bandits has now looped its way back to Apple TV+’s Top 10 chart.

Fans had been calling for a Time Bandits remake for years before Waititi finally answered in 2019. By 2022, things really kicked into gear with casting, including Friends star Lisa Kudrow joining the mix. Waititi put his trademark witty spin on the remake, aiming for something more playful and family-friendly than the original, which leaned a bit more on the darker side. However, the heart of the adventure stayed the same as the premise follows an eleven-year-old Kelvin, a history buff who suddenly finds himself tagging along with a group of chaotic, time-traveling thieves on a wild, high-stakes quest through history.

Waititi’s Time Bandits resonated well with the critics, scoring a fair 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. But with the original being such a beloved cult classic, expectations were understandably higher than usual, and some believed it didn’t quite deliver on its promises. As Collider’s Tania Hussain noted in her review, the series missed the mark when it came to executing those laugh-out-loud moments that usually define Waititi’s style. She also pointed out some pacing issues that threw off the show’s rhythm, though she praised its eye-catching visuals and the cast’s strong performances. With a 50% popcornmeter score, audience reviews were mixed, and that tepid reception inevitably led to its cancellation after one season.

Do You Want ‘Time Bandits’ Season 2?

Time Bandits Season 1 ended on an open note, clearly leaving room for more time-traveling adventures. Waititi and co-creator Jemaine Clement told Collider in the lead-up to the finale that they had already begun mapping out their plan for a potential second season. “We’re mapping out a Season 2,” he said, though he admitted the show’s future depended on viewership and whether it was “financially worth it for Apple to make another one.” Unfortunately, as the cancellation would soon reveal, the numbers did not add up. He, however, did tease an expansion of the world with “more places and more characters and more guest stars and more costumes and all those things.”

Time Bandit‘s recent streaming resurgence is proof that, indeed, there are a number who enjoyed Waititi’s spin on the beloved classic, but unfortunately, it might not be enough to turn the tide in its favor.

You can watch all 10 episodes of Time Bandits Season 1 on AppleTV+.