Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi serve as creators, executive producers, writers, and directors of Time Bandits, which is the first television adaptation of the classic movie. The series stars Lisa Kudrow as Penelope and premieres today on Apple TV+.

Embark on a comedic, high-stakes journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history nerd. Together, they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world.

“We used a lot of puppets and things,” Clement, who is also one of the Showrunners and plays Pure Evil, told me. “So I was most excited when Wētā Workshop built a mammoth and there’s people in it but it looks like a mammoth walking around. That was really exciting for me.”

“It took a long time to get that tonal balance right and not to be too faithful to the film or try and create the exact same thing because that seems pointless. It’s also already so great,” Waititi, who brings the Supreme Being to life, shared.

“I think one of the biggest things that informed Penelope to me was before it was Penelope, they had written — it was a man,” the actress explained. “But it also said that the character was a leader and cowardly, and I said, ‘Oh, I think, I don’t object to them being afraid when it’s appropriate to be afraid, but I would love for this person to be really courageous, like to the point of stupidity, like not knowing when to be afraid until too late or the last minute,’ you know? To me, that’s really funny. Bravado is funny to me.”

We discussed how they made the story their own while also honoring the film, what they were most excited to see come to life on-screen, learning from the experience, unexpected inspiration, and more.

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