Paramount+/Showtime

Paramount+ Picks Up 'It Gets Worse' & 'The Ministry of Time'

Channel 4's 'It Gets Worse' is aptly named as American State TV snatches up the series along with the BBC's 'The Ministry of Time'

Ani Bundel

29 Sep 2026 — 4 min read

Emily Fairn, Olive Gray, and Leo Reich in 'It Gets Worse' (A24/Channel 4/Paramount)

We haven’t written about the collapse of the lawsuit against Paramount-Skydance’s acquisition of WarnerMedia, mostly because we’re all too depressed about our government representatives’ failure to work for our interests instead of the billionaire class. The forthcoming horror show that people will probably nickname WarnerMount (and we will continue to call American State Television) will own over 40% of the U.S. entertainment landscape when all is said and done. Worse, as one of the only games in town, it has already started buying up British shows to air and stream on this side of the pond.

The first round of shows heading to American State TV includes one we’ve been looking forward to since it was announced, and even more so since the BBC revealed the cast as filming got underway. The Ministry of Time is based on Kaliane Bradley’s bestselling debut novel, and stars Aoife Hinds (Dune: Prophecy) and Billy Howle (Under the Banner of Heaven) as the story’s central couple. It also includes Aoife Hinds’ actual parents, real-life spouses Ciarán Hinds (Belfast) and Hélène Patarot (The Dry), who will play her character’s onscreen parents, Peter and Channary. We’re slightly gutted to see it wind up on Paramount.

The second series is the just-announced Major Players, an original drama co-written by Molly Manning Walker (How To Have Sex) and Yasmin Joseph (A Thousand Blows). The series, which has not yet started casting or filming, is about a pair of teenage girls on a mission to start a women’s soccer team. According to the show’s logline, it is “inspired by Molly’s own high school experiences,” and “a love letter to soccer and a funny, wild exploration of young people in London today.”

Then there’s It Gets Worse, a Channel 4 production we’ve been keeping an eye on. The coming-of-age series, which hails from Leo Reich, is about three 20-somethings trying to make it in London. Crave is co-producing the series, so we were expecting a lot of sex, drugs, fun romance, and probably a home for it on HBO alongside Heated Rivalry, especially after the first clip with Andrew Scott went super viral. Sadly, that’s not to be, as Paramount has picked it up for Showtime ahead of the series’ October 14 premiere at the 2026 London Film Festival, with plans for a U.S. debut sometime before the end of the year.

(We were under the impression Showtime was mostly defunct as a network, but sure.)

Here is the viral clip for those of you who didn’t spend the week after it debuted explaining to the youths that some of us have been on the Andrew Scott train since Sherlock. (Also, if this show somehow derails Scott’s Best Actor Oscar campaign for Elsinore, we riot.)

Here’s the synopsis for It Gets Worse:

Ethan, Abi, and Sam are best friends from uni, soulmates for life, and dysfunctional roommates. It’s been a year since they finally managed to move to London, they have collectively accomplished nothing, and now their landlord is selling up. They’re getting kicked out. What now? Can they keep their friendships alive when they are dispersed across a city that seems to want them dead? Can they find a six out of ten or higher to have bad sex with? Can they get their shit together when the world is so obviously falling apart? Probably not. But they’re going to have fun trying.

The main ensemble includes Emily Fairn (The Responder), Olive Gray (Sex Education), Sean Delaney (Killing Eve), Dane Williams (Bergerac), and India Mullen (Normal People).

The supporting cast is absolutely stacked, including Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Lena Dunham (Too Much), Blake Harrison (Bookish), Kirsty Bloom (Supacell), Arian Nik (The Split Up), Safia Oakley-Green (Legacy of Spies), Nicole Sadie Sawyerr (Twenty Twenty Six), Phil Zimmerman (Silent Witness), Billy Rilot (The Undeclared War), Luca Kamleh-Chapman (Alice & Steve), Vicki Pepperdine (Wuthering Heights), Amelia Dimoldenberg (Industry), plus small screen newcomers John Tothill, “Babymorocco” Clayton Pettet, and Emmeline Downie.

It Gets Worse was created by Reich, who penned all episodes, with Boiling Point director Mounia Akl helming all installments and Sam Pinnell producing. The Ministry of Time is adapted by Alice Birch (Normal People), with Aneil Karia (The Gold) serving as the lead director and Frances du Pille producing. Molly Manning Walker and Yasmin Joseph head up the team in charge of Major Players. A24 produces all three series.

It Gets Worse is expected to debut on Paramount+ and Showtime (Paramount+ with Showtime?) in November 2026, with episodes airing and streaming weekly through the end of the year.

The Ministry of Time is expected to debut on the BBC in 2027 and follow on Paramount+. Major Players hasn’t announced an official production timeline, but since it hasn’t started filming, we’re willing to bet it won’t arrive until 2028.