El Ministerio del Tiempo

Plot

The Ministry of Time is the best kept and most closely guarded secret of the Spanish government: an autonomous government institution that reports directly to the Prime Minister and the Spanish Monarch. Its patrols watch the doors of time so that no intruder from other eras can change history for their own benefit.

The series follows the assignments of the Ministry's newest patrol: the one formed by Army of Flanders soldier Alonso de Entrerríos, 19th century student Amelia Folch and 21st century SAMUR paramedic Julián Martínez.

Cast and characters

Main characters

Julián Martínez (Rodolfo Sancho), one of three members of the new patrol. He is a trained SAMUR paramedic from 21st century Madrid, present as a member of the patrol through season 1 and the second half of season 2. His absence during the first half of season 2 was due to shooting for Spanish crime drama series Mar de plástico, and he left the series at the end of that season after failing to reach an agreement with the show's producers. In November 2019, however, it was confirmed he will return for season 4.

Amelia Folch (Aura Garrido), the leader of the patrol. She is a late 19th-century pioneering university student and an only child from an upper-class Barcelona family, still living with her parents. Garrido left the series halfway through the third season, citing scheduling conflicts after she, like Sancho, signed on to other projects due to renewal uncertainty. She left on good terms and was open to returning in the future. In November 2019, her return in season 4 was confirmed.

Alonso de Entrerríos (Nacho Fresneda), the third member of the three-member patrol. A highly experienced 16th-century soldier from Seville, he is portrayed as an expert in fields of combat. He was recruited just prior to being executed, and now lives in the 21st century with a wife and a baby.

Irene Larra Girón (Cayetana Guillén Cuervo), Head of Logistics inside the Ministry. A lesbian from the repressed 1960s, her character is used to express a less rigid viewpoint within the Ministry.

Ernesto Jiménez (Juan Gea), Chief Operating Officer inside the Ministry. Recruited from the 15th century, he is fiercely incorruptible and a perfectionist. In the fourth episode of Season 1 it is disclosed that he is the father of Tomás de Torquemada, the first Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition.

Undersecretary Salvador Martí (Jaime Blanch), Head of the Ministry. His (and the Ministry's) overriding priority is to protect and repair history.

Angustias Vázquez (Francesca Piñón), personal secretary to Salvador and widow of a Ministry agent.

Recurring characters

Diego Velázquez (Julián Villagrán): One of the most important painters in Spanish history, known for Las Meninas and The Surrender of Breda, who was recruited by the Ministry as a facial composite draftsman.

Enric Folch (Xavier Boada) and Carme (Fanny Gautier): Amelia's parents. While he appears more tolerant about his daughter's concerns, she presses her to marry and settle down.

Blanca (Susana Córdoba): Alonso's wife, who believes him to be dead since she does not know his execution was avoided by the Ministry.

Elena Castillo (Susana Córdoba): Alonso's love interest in the present day and Bianca's doppelgänger.

Susana Torres (Mar Saura): The Prime Minister's liaison with the Ministry. Her visits usually mean bad news for Salvador.

Lucía (Luisa Gavasa): Appears in the 3rd season claiming to be Lola Mendieta's daughter.

Ambrogio Spinola (Ramón Langa): One of the main generals of the Spanish Army during the 17th century, most notable for the siege of Breda. He works for the Ministry, and admits he made the mistake of reading about his fate in the books.

Enriqueta Martí (María Rodríguez): A serial murderer who worked as Amelia's maid for a short time.

Marisa (Nieve de Medina): An old love interest of Ernesto's who has returned to work in the Ministry.

Armando Leiva (José Antonio Lobato): A former agent who rebelled against the Ministry when Salvador refused to allow him to bring his 10-year-old son, diagnosed with leukemia, to the present so that doctors from the 21st century could tend to him.

Episodes

Special appearances

Season 1

Hovik Keuchkerian as Juan Martín Díez "El Empecinado"

Josep Linuesa as Thibaud

Iván Villanueva as Benito

Víctor Clavijo as Lope de Vega

Miguel Rellán as Gil Pérez

Miguel Ángel Somé as Alonso de Entrerríos, Jr. (Alonso's son)

David Luque as Heinrich Himmler

Pep Miràs as Francisco Franco

Miko Jarry as Adolf Hitler

Frank Feys as Heinrich Müller

Markus Lambauer as Captain Schweinsteiger

Pep Sais as Antoni Maria Marcet i Poal, abbot of Montserrat

Jorge Pobes as Luis Orcajo

Julio Arrojo as Ángel

Michelle Jenner as Isabella of Castile

Juan Gea as Tomás de Torquemada

Eusebio Poncela as Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros

Paco Obregón as Rabbi Abraham Levi

Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa as Don Manuel López Castillejo

Ben Temple as Aaron Stein

Aitor Mazo as the Inquisition prosecutor

Season 2

Antonio Velázquez as Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar "El Cid"

Sergio Peris-Mencheta as Rogelio Buendía / Imposter Cid

Savitri Ceballos as Jimena Díaz

Luis G. Gámez as Ramón Menéndez Pidal

Pablo Scola as Charlton Heston

Vincente Colomar as Blas de Lezo

Andrés Gertrúdix as Francisco Morán

Santiago Meléndez as Pacino's father

Antonio Reyes as Morán's father

Ximena Vera as Morán's mother

Carmela Lloret and Eva Llorach as two of Morán's victims

Pere Ponce as Miguel de Cervantes

Víctor Clavijo's second appearance as Lope de Vega

Jimmy Shaw as Lord Charles York/Walcott

Markos Marín as John Bennet

Miguel Rellán's second appearance as Gil Pérez

Fernando Cayo as Napoleon Bonaparte

Ismael Martínez as Rodolfo Suárez

Jordi Martínez as Michel Ney

Nadia de Santiago as Rosa del Amo

Selica Torcal as Sor Flora

Season 3

José Ángel Egido as Alfred Hitchcock

Pierre Kiwitt as Petrov

Óscar de la Fuente as Francisco Morales

Julia Fossi as Alma Reville

Rafa Delgado as waiter

José Manuel Poga as William Martin

Antonio Dechent as Mr. Naylor

Cuca Escribano as Mrs. Naylor

Christian Stamm as Sgt. Sommer

Mark Schardan as Ewen Montagu

Mikel Tello as Azcárate

Miko Jarry's second appearance as Adolf Hitler

Tamar Novas as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Miryam Gallego as Mencía

Marta Guerras as Juana

José Luis Ferrer as Faustino

Adelfa Calvo as Aurelia

Joan Arias as Damián

Jorge San José as Valero

Teresa Almeda as Agustina

Pedro Casablanc as Francisco de Goya

María Adánez as María Josefa Pimentel, Duchess of Osuna

Luis Callejo as Manuel Godoy

Season 4

Pep Mirás as Francisco Franco

Koldo Olabarri as Luis García Berlanga

Belén Ponce de León as Carmen Polo

Luichi Macías as Ministry's Agent of 1943

Olga Rodríguez as Wife of the productor of Amor y Patria

Rafael Calatayud as Javier Zurrilla

Carolina García as Ana Quijada

Edu Soto as Felipe IV de España and Fabio McNamara

Carlos Santos as Pedro Almodóvar

Raúl Prieto as Ángel Fuensanta Carrasco

Vito Sanz as Eduardo Robles Prieto

Claudio Portalo as Antonio Banderas

Eduardo Antuña as Porter

Palmira Ferrer as neighbour of Carolina

Jorge Clemente as young Felipe II of Spain

Rachel Lascar as Mary I of England

Jesús Noguero as Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, III duke of Alba

Ramón Esquinas as Count of Egmont

Rafael Núñez as Padre Bartolomé Carranza

Rosa Blake as Elizabeth I of England

Awards

The series won the 2015 Ondas Award for Best Spanish Series. In 2017 it won at Premios Feroz the awards for best drama series, best lead actress (Aura Garrido) and best supporting actor for a television series (Hugo Silva, tied with Velvet's José Sacristán).

International adaptations

A Portuguese language adaptation entitled Ministério do Tempo was produced by Iniziomedia. The format has also been sold to China, with negotiations mentioned for Germany, France, Italy and US. An adaptation of the series was shot in Ukraine, but has not been released.

Disputes

Timeless lawsuit

On 27 September 2016 Onza Partners presented a lawsuit to the CDCA against Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal, and executive producers Shawn Ryan, Eric Kripke and John Davis for copyright infringement and breach of implied contract, claiming that the U.S. TV series Timeless is a copy of El Ministerio del Tiempo.

The defendants responded to the suit in a November 23, 2016 filing, contending that shows about time travel are an established television genre, and that similarities between the two shows are generic, and largely based on the notion that the main characters will travel in time to effect some kind of change. A request to dismiss Onza's lawsuit by Sony was denied on February 15, 2017, but the two parties ultimately came to an agreement and jointly moved to dismiss.

The Ministry of Time

In February 2024, the BBC commissioned the series The Ministry of Time, an adaptation of Kaliane Bradley's then unpublished debut novel of the same name. Fans raised suspicions of plagiarism, backed by series creator Javier Olivares himself. RTVE stated its intention to "request explanations from the BBC about the announcement it made without prejudice to the rights it has in the defense of its interests".

The novel's author Kaliane Bradley responded on social media, stating her novel was an original work of fiction based around Franklin's lost expedition (having been inspired by the AMC series The Terror), and that she had never seen the Spanish series in question.