ABC has just officially ordered a pilot for their adaptation of ‘Time After Time! The novel was originally written by Karl Alexander and follows the life of H.G. Wells who has actually built a real life time machine. The pilot will star Freddie Stroma (‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2′,’Pitch Perfect’) in the central role of Wells himself. No other casting has been announced at this time but Kevin Williamson (‘The Vampire Diaries’,’Scream’) has written it and will serve as the series’ executive producer if it is picked up.

The synopsis of the novel that the series will be based on can be found below:

When Wells showed it off to his famous friends–such as Henry James, Ford Madox Ford and other literary lights of 1893 London, he never suspected that another guest, his college friend, surgeon Leslie John Stephenson, was in truth the infamous Jack the Ripper. When Scotland Yard detectives showed up at Wells’s house to inquire about Stevenson, Jack took the machine and fled to the future–1979 San Francisco. When the time machine, as designed, returned to its point of origin, Wells followed the Ripper to the future. Wells felt obligated to bring him back to justice. Once in San Francisco, Wells realized that he also must save that city . . . and a particular lovely young woman . . . from a new reign of terror at the hands of the depraved, grisly Jack.

In the novels, we see H.G. Wells sharing his time machine with his closest friends only to find out that Jack the Ripper is one of them and things kick off in earnest when he has to chase him through time. While that plot might be used to help kick things off I’m not sure if it will be the main ongoing story arc as they are describing the show as “chronicling the epic adventures of young H.G. Wells and his Time Machine.”

Sounds like they are taking the original idea and going pretty creative in their own direction with it. The premise could be interesting but we’re still a little too far out to really get an idea for what they want to do with the series.

Are you looking forward to checking out ‘Time After Time’ if it gets picked up to series order? What time travelling adventures would you like to see H.G. Wells fall into? Share your thoughts below!

Sources: Deadline