With Doctor Who not returning to the 2026 TV schedule until Christmas of the new year, Whovians only have a couple of things to look forward to in the meantime. As psyched as I am for Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill's podcast, I'm even more psyched for the upcoming spinoff, The War Between the Land and the Sea. That's even more true after recent comments from an executive producer on the series, who explains how the upcoming series compares to the flagship show.
Pete McTighea, an EP and writer of The War Between the Land and the Sea with Russell T. Davies, recently spoke to SFX Magazine on CinemaBlend about the show. The series will air on BBC One overseas beginning December 7th, though readers in the United States will have to wait longer to binge it with a Disney+ subscription. Until then, though, McTighea's comments about the upcoming spinoff have me intrigued about what's to come:
Obviously, it's part of the Whoniverse, so it does have that DNA, but it very much does stand alone as its own thing, narratively and tonally. That was a deliberate thing, to make it fresh where if you're not a Doctor Who fan you might watch this and it might appeal to you in a different way.
It's great to hear The War Between the Land and the Sea was created with the idea of appealing to a new audience, rather than just servicing the existing Doctor Who fans. I think after the Disney partnership fell through, it's time for fans to admit that, if they want to see this franchise continue to thrive and last another sixty years, then it's time to cast a wider net and try to pull in more eyes.
All this to say, it's not as though The War Between the Land and the Sea is going to reinvent the wheel with Doctor Who. While the tone is different, it feels like the show will follow in its parent show's footsteps by promoting progressive messaging. We could be in store for a series that will come with a strong message of some kind, be it political, moral or both.
The big question is what this'll mean to The BBC, or better yet, any potential streaming service that could be the next to own the rights to stream the series in the United States. While the network has pledged to continue the show with or without the help of a co-producer, I think it's fair to say fans will miss that boosted budget if the network is forced to fly solo.
I know I'd rather see Billie Piper's big return done with the same quality as the past couple seasons of Doctor Who. So, hopefully, the upcoming spinoff will gain some acclaim and start get other streaming services talking about adding the series to the fold.
Fans like myself continue to wait for Doctor Who to return in 2026, and for the release of The War Between the Land and the Sea on Disney+. All the while, I'm honestly still trying to manifest the possibility of David Tennant returning once again. Still, I'm eager to see what this new show can bring to the mythology.
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