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Sunday, April 1, 9 p.m.
An everyday moment triggers a crisis in the lives of a happy, successful British couple in Ian McEwan's haunting tale of a lost child and redeemed loved. The Child in Time stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Imitation Game) and Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire, Goodbye Christopher Robin), and it will air on Masterpiece on Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 9 p.m. on PBS.
The 90-minute film is adapted from McEwan's 1987 Whitbread Prize-winning novel, which critic Christopher Hitchens called the author's "masterpiece", and earned high praise during its UK broadcast. The Guardian found it "a deeply affecting portrait of loss and what that does to love," and TheTimes lauded it as "a rarity: nuanced, unmawkish, unsentimental."
Cumberbatch plays the role of Stephen Lewis, a noted children's book author, and Macdonald plays his wife, Julie, a professional musician. They are the doting parents of Kate (Beatrice White), an impish four-year-old and their only child. One day, Kate mysteriously disappears during a shopping outing with Stephen. A horrifying nightmare for any parent, her disappearance upends Stephen and Julie's lives in extraordinary ways.
The film also stars Stephen Campbell Moore (The Last Post, Goodbye Christopher Robin) as Charles, Stephen's publisher and best friend. Saskia Reeves (Wolf Hall) plays Charle's wife, Thelma. In an effort to help take his friend's mind off Kate, Charles gets Stephen appointed to a government commission on child care reform. At this point, Kate has been missing for three years. To Stephen, whose memories of Kate are vivid and ever-present, the committee's direction seems maddeningly out of touch with what children actually need.
Kate haunts every aspect of Stephen's life—as a phantom at his side, a voice in his ear, a fleeting glimpse in a crowd of school children.
With the gentlest touch of the fantastical, this riveting story takes viewers in and out of the present, past, and future, exploring the twin themes of the title — childhood and time — and leading to a conclusion that is as surprising as it is gratifying.
The Child in Time represents the first TV production by Pinewood Television and Cumberbatch's UK production company SunnyMarch TV. It is co-produced by MASTERPIECE for BBC One. The film is adapted by Stephen Butchard (The Last Kingdom), directed by Julian Farino (Entourage) and produced by Grainne Marmion. The film is executive produced by Helen Gregory for Pinewood Television, Cumberbatch, Adam Ackland and David Boulter for SunnyMarch TV, Lucy Richer for the BBC, Rebecca Eaton for MASTERPIECE and Butchard.
Watch the preview:
