Fans of Doctor Who received news of brand-new series to expand their beloved Doctor’s universe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer and showrunner, Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk, It’s a Sin), revealed a spinoff series exploring a war beneath the sea during a Comic-Con panel. Entitled The War Between Land and Sea, the five-part series will star Russell Tovey (American Horror Story, Being Human) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Surface).
THR provided an official synopsis: “When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT steps into action as the land and sea wage war.”
The series is set to reunite our heroes with a familiar foe, the Sea Devils, which were popular during the 1970s iteration, via The Hollywood Reporter. Tovey and Mbatha-Raw will be joined by Doctor Who characters of the past — Jemma Redgrave’s (Dream Deamon, The Beekeeper) Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and Alexander Devrient’s (All the Old Knives, The Giggle) Colonel Ibrahim.
Production for the series begins next month, with Davies and Peter McTighe (A Discovery of Witches, Wentworth) writing the series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Additional executive producers include Jane Tranter (Succession, The Night Of), Joel Collins (His Dark Materials, Black Mirror), Phil Collinson (Gentleman Jack, Coronation Street), and Julie Gardner (Othello, The Sarah Jane Adventures). Under Disney Branded Television and the BBC’s partnership, production is led by BBC Studios and Bad Wolf. Dylan Holmes-Williams (The Devil’s Harmoney, Servant) is attached to direct.
“I’m so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast. And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Who universe to its foundations. When the Doctor’s not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble,” Davies said via The Hollywood Reporter.
The long-running series refreshed the franchise with Ncuti Gatwa (Barbie, Sex Education) as the Fifteenth doctor, marking the franchise’s first POC and openly gay doctor. The most recent season aired on the BBC and, for the first time, streamed on Disney+ in the States. Gatwa will continue as the Doctor for another season.