Lisa Kudrow Reveals What Historical Figure She Loved the Most in Time Bandits

Kudrow fell in love with the historical figure of Madam Zheng so much, she was a little awkward around the co-star who played her.

By Russ Burlingame

Lisa Kudrow is set to return to television later this month with Time Bandits, Apple TV+'s upcoming television adaptation of the beloved cult classic movie from beloved filmmaker Terry Gilliam. Created for television by Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), Iain Morris (The Inbetweeners) and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), and produced for Apple TV+ by Paramount Television Studios, Anonymous Content's AC Studios and MRC, Time Bandits centers on an 11-year-old boy who loves history -- and finds himself stolen by a group of thieves and recruited to help them on a cosmic journey through space and time. Oh, and along they way, they'll try to save his parents. Along the way, though, Kudrow and her crew got to meet up with quite a few historical figures and time-tossed characters. Think Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, but with pirates. 

Kudrow was most impressed by Madam Zheng, who led Chinese pirate ships against the British Navy in 1810. In-story, she's also key to the Time Bandits story, being the first to notice how useful young Kevin (Kal-El Tuck) can be. Based on the real-life pirate Zheng Yi Sao, Zheng's name has been anglicized to "Chung" in most coverage of the show, including on the IMDb entry for the episodes.

"Every single place we visited and historical person we interacted with was fascinating to me," Kudrow told ComicBook. "I mean, just the Madam Zheng -- when Madam Zheng appeared, the wardrobe is so impressive, I got -- [gasp] 'her!' Because I had looked her up when I first read the script. I looked up Madam Zheng, who is so impressive, and I actually got stupidly excited and nervous around [Katlyn Wong], who played Madam Zheng, too."

Guided by a captain played by Romy and Michele's High School Reunion star Lisa Kudrow, the eccentric crew of bandits embark on epic adventures while evil forces threaten their conquests, and life as they know it. As the group transports through time and space, the gang stumbles upon fascinating worlds of the distant past while seeking out treasure, depending on Kevin to shed light on each situation. The "Time Bandits" witness the creation of Stonehenge, see the Trojan Horse in action, escape dinosaurs in the prehistoric ages, wreak havoc during medieval times, experience the Ice Age, ancient civilizations and the Harlem Renaissance, and much more along the way. 

The film version, released in 1981, was one of Gilliam's key early successes, released in between his three Monty Python movies (a member of the troupe, he co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail and had important behind-the-scenes roles on Jabberwocky and Monty Python's The Life of Brian) and hits like The Fisher King and 12 Monkeys. Time Bandits was part of Gilliam's "Trilogy of Imagination," which also included Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. The three were not connected by any particular plot, but were a thematic trilogy in the vein of Lindsay Anderson's Mick Travis movies or Edgar Wright's "Cornetto Trilogy."

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Consisting of 10 episodes, the Kudrow-led Time Bandits is produced for Apple TV+ by Paramount Television Studios, Anonymous Content's AC Studios and MRC. Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris and Taika Waititi executive produce, write, and direct select episodes, with Clement and Morris serving as co-showrunners. Garrett Basch and Tim Coddington also executive produce along with Jane Stanton who executive produces for Handmade Films.

The ten-episode series will premiere globally with the first two episodes on Wednesday, July 24, followed by two new episodes every Wednesday until the finale airs on August 21, 2024. Time Bandits streams exclusively on Apple TV+.  

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