The BBC and A24 have revealed the lead cast for The Ministry of Time, an upcoming six-part sci-fi drama based on Kaliane Bradley’s bestselling novel.
Aoife Hinds will play Sophy, a civil servant who joins a secret government program built around time travel. Billy Howle will portray Commander Graham Gore, a Victorian polar explorer whom the Ministry brings into the modern world as part of its experimental program.
Production has now started across London, marking a major step forward for the highly anticipated adaptation. The BBC commissioned the series more than two years ago, with A24 producing the project.
The drama follows a newly established government department that has discovered how to pull people from different periods of history into the present. The Ministry calls these historical figures “expats” and places them in a classified experiment designed to determine whether scientists can eventually expand time travel.
Sophy has spent years building her career in the civil service. However, her latest assignment takes her somewhere she never expected. The Ministry tasks her with helping Graham adjust to life in the 21st century.
Graham, a Victorian-era polar explorer, suddenly finds himself far from his own time and under the Ministry’s watch.
As Sophy and Graham grow closer, their professional relationship develops into a complicated romance that crosses centuries. At the same time, Sophy starts to uncover disturbing details about the Ministry’s true intentions, putting both of them in increasing danger.
Hinds brings credits such as Normal People, Dune: Prophecy, The Long Call and Secret Service to the project. She will play Sophy, a British Cambodian protagonist whose identity remains unnamed in Bradley’s original novel.
Howle, meanwhile, has appeared in The Perfect Couple, Under the Banner of Heaven and several acclaimed film and television projects. He will portray the real-life historical figure Commander Graham Gore.
The production has yet to announce several additional cast members. The uncast characters include fellow historical “expats” Maggie and Arthur, along with the Ministry’s vice-secretary, Adela.
Alice Birch has adapted Bradley’s novel for television. Birch previously worked on Normal People, Dead Ringers and The End We Start From.
Aneil Karia will direct the series. His previous credits include Hamlet, The Long Goodbye and Surge.
Bradley published The Ministry of Time in 2024, and the debut novel quickly found success in both the U.K. and U.S. markets. The story combines time travel and romance with themes including race, imperialism, gender, sexuality and climate change.
The television adaptation consequently goes beyond a traditional time-travel adventure. The series uses its central romance to explore power, history and the consequences of interfering with the past.
The BBC has positioned The Ministry of Time as a genre-bending drama that combines science fiction, romance and political intrigue. Lindsay Salt, the BBC’s drama director, welcomed Hinds and Howle to the project and highlighted their roles at the center of the story.
A24 continues to expand its television slate with the series, while its partnership with the BBC gives Bradley’s bestselling novel a major international platform.
The production has not yet announced a premiere date. The Ministry of Time will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the U.K. once filming and post-production wrap.
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