It’s about time.
Daniel Lawrence Taylor, the British creator/star of time-travel romp “Timewasters,” was impressed by the truth that most interval dramas have homogenous casts.
“One of many vital issues about ‘Timewasters’ is that you simply very not often get to see black individuals in interval items. And that was very thrilling to me — to write down myself and different younger black actors as properly, and to create that and put us all onscreen collectively,” Taylor informed The Submit from his residence in London.
Premiering Friday (June 11), the half-hour comedy initially aired on ITV2 within the UK and has landed right here on IMDb TV (Amazon’s free streamer). Set in London, the collection follows 4 pals in a jazz quartet who uncover an elevator that magically brings them from the current day again to the Twenties. There, they discover that members of excessive society embrace them, since jazz is all the fashion.
“On the time [that I created the show] I used to be studying to play the trumpet randomly — and I assumed, ‘Wouldn’t or not it’s cool to make a jazz band?’ And in addition, on the time there have been numerous reveals in Britain like ‘The Inbetweeners’ and ‘Drifters’ a few group of pals going round doing loopy stuff,” stated Taylor. “So, I assumed, ‘Wouldn’t or not it’s cool if it was an all-black [friend] present…Time journey added a complete new layer to permit me to be a bit satirical and push the boundaries, which I’ve at all times loved doing in my comedy.”
Taylor, who has additionally been on “Tracey Ullman’s Present,” stated that he put a private contact into “Timewasters.” The jazz quartet is made up of Nick (Taylor), Jason (Kadiff Kirwan), Lauren (Adelayo Adedayo), and Horace (Samson Kayo).
“All of the characters are named after my siblings,” he stated. “Clearly everybody finds their very own household humorous, however I do discover mine fairly humorous. The one one which’s not named after one in every of my siblings is Horace. And the one purpose for that was is for one joke that ended up getting minimize. So, my brother Dominic shouldn’t be comfortable about that. However I informed him that [Horace’s] center identify is Dominic.”
Though that is the primary present that Taylor has each created and starred in, balancing duties in entrance of and behind the digicam wasn’t laborious, he stated — although it did current some challenges.
“I like each parts as a result of they work to totally different sides of the mind. But it surely’s at all times fairly tough to write down one thing and know that you simply’re going to be performing it later,” he stated. “There’s one [scene] the place I get utterly bare. And I simply keep in mind writing it going, ‘Why on earth am I scripting this realizing that I’m going to must get bare?’ After which I feel, ‘It’s effective; earlier than we do this I’ll work out and look nice!’ And clearly you don’t do these issues.
“However the enjoyable facet is that you simply get to create roles for your self.”
