The Liverpool Film Office has invested in the second series of Jimmy McGovern’s multi-award-winning hit drama Time through the Liverpool City Region (LCR) Production Fund.
The announcement comes after the BBC released a first-look image of the lead actors, Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who, Broadchurch), Tamara Lawrence (The Silent Twins, The Long Song), and Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us, His Dark Materials).The new three-part series, which is currently filming in Liverpool, Halton, Wirral, and Kowsley, is a moving and high-stakes portrayal of life inside a women’s prison, told through the lens of a three very different inmates who are thrown together to face an unfamiliar world.
The fund also provided funding for the first season of Time, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, which was a critical and ratings success in the United Kingdom and went on to win two BAFTA TV awards, including Best Mini-Series in 2022. The second series is produced and distributed internationally by BBC Studios for BBC One and iPlayer (as well as Britbox North America) and directed by Andrea Harkin (The Confessions of Frannie Langton, The Trial of Christine Keeler).
It was co-written by McGovern and Helen Black (Life and Death in the Warehouse). The LCR Production Fund, managed by the Liverpool Film Office, was established to increase the number, variety, and scale of productions made in the city region.
It is supporter by £3 million from the Combined Authority through Mayor Steve Rotheram’s Strategic Investment Fund.
So far, the fund has made eight investments, including the primetime dramas such as the BAFTA Award-winning Help, the BAFTA-nominated The Responder, and The Ipcress File, with two to three more expected over the rest of 2023.
Head of Liverpool Film Office and Fund Manager, Lynn Saunders said:
“This latest boost for the production fund is fantastic news for the Liverpool City Region especially following on from the award-winning success of the first series of Time.
“By providing investment to productions, we are having a huge positive impact on the region with over £6 for every £1 of investment being directly spent in the local economy.
“The Fund also provides opportunities for local crew with over 34 trainees and 402 FTE jobs being supported to date through projects such as this.
“With the addition of The Depot and our expanding Liverpool Film Office team we are now drawing more productions than ever before into the region, allowing us to offer a real wraparound service to those coming to our area to create showstopping television and film.
“I am really excited to see what is to come with the second series of Time and know that we will be seeing even more award nominations to come.”
