Tom Hiddleston is heading back in time for a new National Geographic series exploring one of history’s most famous disasters. Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston premieres on 23 July on Disney+ and National Geographic. The three-part docudrama follows Hiddleston as he investigates the final hours before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which destroyed Pompeii and nearby Roman settlements.
The series reunites Hiddleston with Loki executive producer Kevin R. Wright and combines documentary storytelling with scripted drama sequences inspired by real historical figures and events.
Guided by archaeologists, historians, geologists and disaster experts, Hiddleston examines new evidence surrounding the catastrophe and the people caught in its path. The series challenges long-held assumptions about Pompeii and suggests that many residents may have had opportunities to escape.
Rather than focusing solely on the eruption itself, Pompeii: Out of Time follows several people living in the city, including a teenage apprentice, a powerful businesswoman and a Praetorian Guard. Through their stories, the series attempts to reconstruct the choices ordinary people faced as disaster approached.
Hiddleston, who has long spoken about his fascination with the ancient world, described Pompeii as a place where the distance between past and present seems to disappear.
“Pompeii is often remembered for how its story ended. But by looking closer, we can uncover the details of people’s lives, the choices they made, and the moments that came before the city was buried.”
tom hiddleston
The project also arrives alongside new archaeological research into Pompeii, Herculaneum and Oplontis. National Geographic has revealed that recent studies using AI technology and advanced DNA analysis are uncovering new information about daily life, health and social structures in ancient Rome.
The series will also feature an original score by composer Aisling Brouwer, which will be released through Hollywood Records on 24 July.
For CultureCues, the biggest draw here is the combination of Tom Hiddleston and a genuinely fascinating piece of history. Pompeii has been explored countless times on screen, but the mix of documentary investigation and dramatic reconstruction gives this series a fresh angle. If anyone can make a two-thousand-year-old mystery feel compelling, it is probably Loki himself.
Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston premieres on 23 July on Disney+ and National Geographic.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.