The BBC and Disney Branded Television jointly announce their first brand new Doctor Who spin-off titled "The War Between The Land And The Sea", during San Diego Comic-Con. The series is created by Doctor Who Showrunner and Executive Producer Russell T Davies, who has written the series with Pete McTighe ("A Discovery of Witches", "The Pact", "Doctor Who").
"The War Between The Land And The Sea" has been commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama for the BBC. The series is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television, and will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and exclusively on Disney+ outside of the UK where available. Executive Producers for Bad Wolf are Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins and Phil Collinson. Produced with the support of Welsh Government via Creative Wales.
Leading the five-part series is Russell Tovey ("Feud", "American Horror Story: NYC") and Gugu Mbatha-Raw ("Surface", "Loki"). The series will also see the return of UNIT alumni Jemma Redgrave ("Doctor Who", "Grantchester") who will reprise her role as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Alexander Devrient ("Doctor Who", "Ted Lasso") as Colonel Ibrahim.
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.
Russell T Davies, Showrunner, Writer and Executive Producer praised the cast: “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," commented.
Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama, BBC predicted that the audience would like the final result.: “'The War Between The Land and The Sea' is another utterly unique and gripping drama from Russell T Davies and we’re delighted to welcome the show to The Whoniverse! Featuring a stellar cast, with Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw taking on leading roles, this brand new epic mini series will leave audiences on the edge of their seats as they watch UNIT take on one of their biggest battles to save humanity," noted.
Filming begins next month and will be directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, director of two "Doctor Who" Season One episodes – "73 Yards" and "Dot and Bubble".