NBC drama 'Timeless' ties up loose ends with two-hour finale
Thanks in large part to its fans, “Timeless” has been given the time — two hours, to be exact — to wrap things up.
Effectively, the NBC fantasy-drama about time travelers played by Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter and Malcolm Barrett was saved by very vocal devotees twice: first when it got a second season after having been canceled, and now for earning a finale to tie up its loose ends. Airing Thursday, Dec. 20, that last story resolves the fate of the supposedly deceased Rufus Carlin (Barrett) and also integrates a Christmas theme ... which executive producers Shawn Ryan and Eric Kripke and their team could plan for, courtesy of the scheduling.
“We wrapped at 5 a.m. on a Saturday,” says Spencer, alias the show's history-inclined Lucy Preston, “and we had a blast! It was kind of like cheating death twice, so this felt like borrowed time. And it was so significant, because it was such a mirror to what the characters were going through on the show. Our approach to this last time was, ‘Let's just enjoy it.'
“We know how much our fans love the show,” Spencer adds, “so when you're doing it for the fans wholeheartedly, you laugh and sing songs and dance. We got to have this last hurrah — as far as we know — and it was really, really great.” Spencer notes that co-star Lanter “made a big deal out of” her final scene, “screaming and hollering. And we were freezing, because we were out in the cold.”
Barrett shot his last “Timeless” scene a day earlier, and Spencer admits she “burst into tears” at that. “Even at the table read, I started crying. It was such a hard show to make, and I feel like we were putting good in the world with all of the historical components ... and all of the women and minorities who were at the forefront of story lines that we were able to put on network television.”
Pleased that her son has enjoyed watching “Timeless,” Spencer is getting back into a series groove rather quickly. After also working on shows from “Mad Men” and “Rectify” to “Grey's Anatomy” and “Suits,” she'll soon appear in the YouTube action-comedy “Wayne,” playing someone she terms “a drug-addict, beauty-queen, Boston-based wreck of a woman.” She also stars in the Hulu revenge-story pilot “Reprisal.”
Still, Spencer knows she'll retain “Timeless” as a special experience, for numerous reasons. “It really affected me,” she confirms. “We told 30 different historical stories and went on 30 different adventures ... and what a feat. There's really a sense of pride, and I hope the fans like the finale. It really is for them.”
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“Timeless”
Two-hour series finale airs at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, on NBC