Most time-travel movies and series are raucous sci-fi adventures filled with intrigue and timeline shenanigans. But what if you’re looking for a little less “world-ending consequences” and a little more “my soulmate is from a different century”? Can we hear it for the hopeless, time-traveling romantics?
Series like Outlander (which is available on Netflix) feature swoonworthy heroes without any modern-day trappings. There’s no need to worry about your credit score or weekly meal prep when your twin flame wields a sword on the Scottish moors — or when you can reset the clock for an instant meet-cute do-over. So if you’re longing for an intimate transtemporal trip, check out these time-travel romances below.
Claire Randall (Caitríona Balfe) is perfectly happy with her life. It’s 1946, and World War II is over. Her time as a combat nurse taught her plenty of life lessons, and she’s content to follow her husband, Frank (Tobias Menzies), to Scotland, where he’s researching his family’s history. But one day, after witnessing a Druid ritual, Claire is transported back in time 200 years. There, she meets a group of Highland warriors — including the gallant Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). As she begins to accept her new reality on the Scottish moors, Claire and Jamie fall desperately in love, weaving a romance that defies time, space, and British rule. This epic romantic historical drama series, developed by Ronald D. Moore (For All Mankind), is based on Diana Gabaldon’s beloved novels and also stars Graham McTavish (The Witcher), Gary Lewis (The Vanishing), Lotte Verbeek (Nuremberg), Duncan Lacroix (Outlaw King), and Laura Donnelly (Beowulf).
From the moment Noah Ashby (Adam Devine) met Avery Martin (Alexandra Daddario), he was in love. So it’s too bad she only ever saw him as a bestie. Three friend-zoned years later, Avery marries the handsome, charming Ethan (Robbie Amell), and Noah, heartbroken, gets drunk at the wedding, where he unknowingly steps into a magic photo booth that zips him back in time to the night he and Avery first met. Holy do-over, Batman! Determined to win Avery’s heart, Noah does everything in his power to woo her but soon learns that fate can have a (sometimes nasty) sense of humor. Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf) and Andrew Bachelor (Rim of the World) also star in this rom-com directed by Ari Sandel (Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween).
Two decades ago, Kat Landry (Chyler Leigh) moved away from her small hometown in Canada after a tragic accident. That’s the last time she saw her mother, Del (Andie MacDowell), whom she moves back in with after divorcing her husband. Kat’s daughter, Ali (Sadie Laflamme-Snow), is along for the ride — and vehemently unhappy about moving to the middle of nowhere. Little do these three generations of women know that their family’s property contains a magic pond that transports people through time. With help from Ali’s physics teacher and Kat’s childhood friend, Elliot (Evan Williams), they might find the source of their family’s oldest wounds and … the way home.
How many times can you repeat the same disastrous wedding? Jack (Sam Claflin) finds the answer when he attends his sister Hayley’s (Eleanor Tomlinson), only for the celebration to go wrong repeatedly in new and creative ways. See, three years ago, Jack lost the chance to woo his sister’s roommate, Dina (Olivia Munn), and he spots an opportunity for them to reconnect at the wedding. But when Hayley’s messy former classmate, Marc (Jack Farthing), shows up and declares his love for her, she assigns Jack to drug him with a sleeping draught, but he gives it to the wrong person. A series of unfortunate events follows, with Jack trying (and often failing) to keep the peace. Freida Pinto (Mr. Malcolm’s List) and Joel Fry (Requiem) also star.
James Franco (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) leads this eight-episode sci-fi thriller as Jake Epping, a man tasked with a seemingly impossible mission: travel back in time and stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963. As Jake gathers information, makes connections, and builds a life for himself in the ’60s, he learns that history has a way of fighting back against unwanted incursions — even if unexpected love is on the line. Based on Stephen King’s 2011 novel and executive produced by J.J. Abrams (The Cloverfield Paradox), this miniseries also stars Chris Cooper (American Beauty), Sarah Gadon (You Gotta Believe), Lucy Fry (Bright), George MacKay (Been So Long), and Daniel Webber (The Dirt).
In 1966, a married pair of physicists, Héctor (Benny Ibarra) and Nora (Lucero), crack the code for time travel. Decked out in goggles and lab coats, they traverse to 2025, where they discover a scientific community that has far more respect for women in STEM. Bolstered by the regard she never had in her own decade, Nora begins to question her place in the world (and time) as well as her relationship with Héctor, who was always treated as the golden boy — until now. Renata Vaca (Rosario Tijeras), Ofelia Medina (Triptych), and Claudia Lobo (La diosa del asfalto) co-star in this sci-fi rom-com directed by Chava Cartas (Counterattack).
A love story is a love story, no matter the time of year. The Knight Before Christmas stars Vanessa Hudgens (The Princess Switch) as high school teacher Brooke Winters, who’s approaching the holiday season with trepidation after breaking up with her philandering ex. While driving through a snowstorm, she accidentally hits a man with her car. That man — decked out in 14th century armor and ranting about an “old crone” in the woods — is Sir Cole Christopher Fredrick Lyons (Josh Whitehouse), a knight who was transported to the 21st century on a quest, though he’s unclear about the goal. As Cole adjusts to the modern world (are airplanes just metal dragons?), he works with Brooke to complete his quest and get home. If they develop feelings for each other along the way, that’s just the star on top of the tree.
