Travelers is a science fiction television series created by Brad Wright, starring Eric McCormack, Mackenzie Porter, Jared Abrahamson, Nesta Cooper, Reilly Dolman, and Patrick Gilmore.[1][2] The first two seasons were co-produced by Netflix and Canadian specialty channel Showcase. After the second season, Netflix became the sole commissioning broadcaster and worldwide distributor. The show premiered in Canada on October 17, 2016, and worldwide on December 23, 2016.[3] A second season followed in 2017, and a third season was released on December 14, 2018.[4][5] In February 2019, McCormack said that the series had been cancelled.[6] Show Premise[edit]In a post-apocalyptic future, thousands of special operatives are tasked with preventing the collapse of society. These operatives, known as "travelers", have their consciousnesses sent back in time and transferred into the "host" body of present-day individuals who are about to die, minimizing unexpected impact on the future. The transfer requires the exact location of the target, made possible by 21st-century smartphones and GPS, providing time, elevation, latitude, and longitude (TELL) coordinates that are archived for use in the future. No transfer can be safely made to a time prior to one already performed. Using social media and public records, travelers learn about their hosts, each maintaining the host's pre-existing life as cover for the rest of their lives. In teams of five, they carry out missions dictated by the Director, an artificial intelligence monitoring the timeline from the future. The goal of the missions is to save the world from a series of catastrophic events. The Director can communicate with travelers through prepubescent children, who, unlike adults, can safely be animated by the Director for a short time without risking death. Protocols[edit]Travelers have several protocols to protect the timeline:
The team historians have an additional secret protocol involving the periodic updates they receive concerning "historic information relative to [their] team's role in the Grand Plan". It is a sub-protocol of Protocol 2:
The Director can invoke three other protocols in special situations:
Recurring[edit]
Introduced in season 1[edit]
Introduced in season 2[edit]
Introduced in season 3[edit]
Episodes[edit]Season 1 (2016–17)[edit]The first season premiered on Netflix on December 23, 2016, before its final two episodes aired on Showcase.[citation needed] Season 2 (2017)[edit]Season 3 (2018)[edit]Critical reception[edit]The first season of Travelers received a score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on nine reviews with an average rating of 8.0/10.[9] Neil Genzlinger, writing for The New York Times, described the first season as "tasty", and "enjoyable science fiction", with "some attention-grabbing flourishes and fine acting".[10] Hanh Nguyen, writing for IndieWire, described the series as "fun and freaky", finding the series' appeal "in how the core group of five travelers adjust to life in our present", noting the "human nature in the travelers".[11] Lawrence Devoe, of TheaterByte.com, called the series "tautly paced and suspenseful" with "well-developed characters", declaring that "Brad Wright has a real knack for creating futuristic series".[12] Evan Narcisse, reviewing the first five episodes of the first season for io9, appreciated the moral dilemmas offered by the series premise and the awkwardness presented by the characters' interactions with their hosts' friends, colleagues, lovers, or caretakers: "This is a superhero show in double disguise, offering up clever explorations of the secret identity concept that touch on the guilt and contortions that come with living a double life."[13] Netflix announced that the series was one of its "most devoured" series in 2017.[14] Writing in Forbes, Merrill Barr said of the second season: "There's a lot to love about what Travelers brings to the table this season. The show has truly come into its own."[15] In reviewing the first two episodes of the second season, Nguyen of Indiewire called Travelers "an exploration of the human condition in all of its messy glory, [with] depictions of the most ingenious, yet disturbing means of time travel on screen".[16] Barr of Forbes said the third season brought "a mixed approach as the show returns to its mission-of-the-week roots of season one, but this time while remixing the format with episodes of different substance from chapter to chapter. [...] What we get this year from the show is the best example of what a television series should be."[17] Netflix was criticized for using real footage from the Lac-Megantic rail disaster in the third season. The use of such footage was considered by many to be inappropriate for fictional content, and many sought to have the footage removed.[18] Carrie Mudd, president of Peacock Alley, said they were not aware of the origin of the footage and the affected episode would be re-edited. The stock film company that provided the clip also apologized, pledging to review how images can be repurposed by Hollywood clients.[19][20] |