The 1960s Irwin Allen series is getting a modern audio continuation from February 2025.

Big Finish have announced that, under license from Legendary Entertainment, they are reviving Irwin Allen’s The Time Tunnel on audio.

The classic American sci-fi adventure television series ran for 30 episodes between 1966 – 1967. The story followed the exploits of two scientists, Tony Newman and Doug Phillips, who became lost in time. Together they visted the battle of the Alamo and the sinking of the Titanic, as well as meeting futuristic aliens.

The show judiciously used sets, stock footage and props left over from period dramas made by the 20th Century Fox film company or from other Irwin Allen television and film productions.

In the UK, the show may be familiar to viewers who caught it on the BBC in the early 70s. Since then, it’s appeared across various broadcasters over the years alongside stablemates Land of the Giants and Lost in Space.

However, The Time Tunnel series never saw the pair safely returned home, which is where Big Finish comes in…

Here’s the setup for the revival of The Time Tunnel:

In 1979, 20 years after it was set up, Project Tic-Toc was shut down by the American authorities. All hope of retrieving scientists Tony Newman and Doug Phillips, lost in the Time Tunnel in 1968, has been abandoned.

In 2025, four people are brought together by a need to reopen the Arizona base and reactivate the Time Tunnel in secret. From there, they must try to find Doug or Tony because something they have done in the past has changed the present—and not for the better. The world is now under the power of Rakervia.

Two Big Finish regulars lead the series: Gallifrey star Seán Carlsen and Safiyya Ingar (Valarie from The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles). Carlsen plays British naval officer Captain Lewis Haworth, Ingar is MB, a young hacker.

Joining them are Jay Reum as journalist Cole Smith and Rachel Handshaw as marine biologist Clare MacGregor.

The new series keeps to the spirit of the original – here’s what we know about the new stories:

“When these four heroes find themselves in a changed world, they must travel through time – using The Time Tunnel, a top-secret installation based in Arizona – to put things right. Over the series, they will visit key moments in history, from the English Civil War to the Stonewall uprising, meet famous historical figures, and work together to restore the world to its proper course.”

The show comes from producer and script editor Gary Russell who says:

“Irwin Allen’s The Time Tunnel had the potential to be the most interesting and clever of all his shows, but the story never got a resolution – and that was the launchpad for this new 2025 version. Time travel is also dangerous – as the great writer Ray Bradbury once warned, be careful not to tread on the butterflies…”

Volumes 1 and 2 of Irwin Allen’s The Time Tunnel are out in February and November 2025, respectively. Each volume contains three adventures and pre-orders are available exclusively from Big Finish now.

Both are released as a Collector’s Edition Triple CD Box Set (+ download), or on digital download only.

We can expect announcents regarding writers, guest cast and story specifics soon. The series is also to be the focus of a special panel at this year’s Gallifrey One convention in February.

We’ll keep you posted on The Time Tunnel.