What we know about Doctor Who spin-off The War Between The Land and the Sea

The BBC has big plans for the Whoniverse as showrunner Russell T Davies recently revealed that a new Doctor Who spin-off series entitled The War Between the Land and the Sea is currently in the works.

The project was unveiled during San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024 and came complete with a batch of stars already attached — many of whom will already be familiar to diehard Who fans.

What else do we know about The War Between The Land and the Sea? Well, it’s still early days but we’ve scoured space and time to gather all the information currently available — and we didn’t even need the help of a TARDIS to do it.

Read on for all the details you need.

When will The War Between the Land and the Sea be released?

The War Between the Land and the Sea doesn’t have a release date yet.

Davies plans to begin shooting the show in August 2024, with former Doctor Who director Dylan Holmes-Williams at the helm. Holmes-Williams was behind two episodes of Doctor Who’s latest series — 73 Yards and Dot and Bubble — with Ncuti Gatwa as its titular Time Lord.

The new spin-off show will air on BBC One with international audiences able to watch it on Disney+.

What will happen in the show?

Current Doctor Who showrunner and executive producer Davies has created The War Between The Land and the Sea and co-wrote it with Doctor Who and A Discovery of Witches scribe Pete McTighe.

It’s a project that’ll bring some well-known Who elements to the fore in a mini-series that Davies has described as a “muscular, thrilling drama which will shake the Whoniverse to its foundations.”

As far as plot details go, all we have to work off is a very brief series synopsis that teases the basic gist of Davies’ new venture.

“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 step into action as the land and sea wage war.”

Intriguing.

Who is part of the cast?

Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Russell Tovey will lead The War Between The Land and the Sea, both of whom have appeared in Doctor Who episodes over the years.

Mbatha-Raw played Tish Jones, sister of Martha who was a previous companion of David Tennant’s tenth Doctor. Meanwhile, fans will no doubt remember Tovey as Alonso Frame, a junior officer of a spaceship named Titanic who also appeared alongside Tennant’s Doctor.

Despite already having a Whoniverse history, the pair will play new brand roles in The War Between the Land and the Sea.

That said, the series will have some canonical links to previous Doctor Who episodes.

Jemma Redgrave will reprise her role as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Commander-in-Chief of the show’s fictional military organisation Unit. She’ll be joined by Alexander Devrient as high-ranking Unit officer Colonel Ibrahim.

According to multiple reports, the show will not feature an appearance by Gatwa’s current Time Lord.

Davies gushed while discussing his cast, saying: “I’m so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast. And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations. When the Doctor’s not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble.”

The War Between The Land and the Sea is coming soon to BBC and Disney+.