Time Bandits

The series reframes historical adventures through a modern progressive lens. The narrative highlights non-Western figures like Mansa Musa and pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao with contemporary cultural pride, while casting traditional white, male historical figures in a more buffoonish or negative light. The dynamic of the bumbling thieves is structured around a female-led hierarchy.

Mainstream critics highlighted the show's "slyly anti-colonialism" approach. Traditional Western history is repeatedly mocked, and the concept of Western civilization is presented as narrow and flawed. The Supreme Being, played by Taika Waititi, is depicted as an incompetent corporate manager who wants to wipe out and reset Earth because humanity is ruining it, satirizing Western structures.

The show makes massive, ideologically driven changes to the source material. It completely removes the dwarf characters that were structural to the original 1981 Terry Gilliam movie, replacing them with a diverse, average-height group. It also gender-swaps the lead bandit from David Rappaport's character Randall to Lisa Kudrow's Penelope.

The series faced intense backlash from right-leaning commentators, audience reviewers, and the dwarfism community. Critics accused the producers of being too afraid of causing offense, leading them to engage in performative diversity that stripped actors of short stature of rare leading roles. This "dwarf-less" casting became a major talking point for anti-woke critiques, and many celebrated the show's swift cancellation.

Co-creators Taika Waititi (58), Jemaine Clement (26), and Iain Morris (24) present a mixed but noticeably progressive creative team. Waititi's public decolonial advocacy heavily shapes the show's tone. The writing staff also features several progressive figures, including Tyrel Williams (60) and Sam Bain (58), who actively champion representation.