← Binge

Time (2021)

2021 · Crime,Drama · contemporary-realistic, uk-kitchen-sink

Time poster

Time is a BBC prison drama written by Jimmy McGovern, set entirely inside a British men's prison (series 1) and women's prison (series 2). It is characterised by the gritty, working-class social realism McGovern has practised since Cracker — unflinching about institutional violence, moral compromise, and the human cost of incarceration. Series 1 pairs Sean Bean as a guilt-ridden inmate and Stephen Graham as a principled officer in a morally knotted central relationship. The tone is relentlessly serious, the authenticity praised by viewers with first-hand experience, and the emotional register consistently devastating. It functions simultaneously as prestige character study and impassioned indictment of Britain's prison system.

From the reviewers

Sean Bean and Stephen Graham demonstrate why they are two of the most respected names in the industry today with absolutely stellar performances and never let up for a second.
It's an utterly believable, intelligent and truly moving drama that gets to the heart of what's wrong with our outdated, broken prison system.
When I went into Time I was expecting something utterly hopeless and bleak, but there's just enough light in the darkness to keep you hopeful.
He focused instead on character development & very heavily on the eyes, as a medium of expression. The challenge with focusing in & using the eyes as a vehicle of extensive communication and non-verbal dialogue and inference is that it MANDATES actors of experience & the highest calibre.
it gets the horror exactly, laced in with the writer's Catholic sensibilities about guilt and redemption.

Explore all 293 prestige TV dramas on Binge →

The Curator's Index

Binge.

Curated Prestige Streaming

Opening up shop.

← Sightlines · the film atlas
Binge.

Curated Prestige Streaming

Find shows to watch based on real reviewer language. No collaborative filtering, no popularity boost. Your taste is the only algorithm here.

The collection

— shows

Browse the library. Filter by sub-genre, register, era, or popularity tier. Click a show to see its full characterization.

—