'Doctor Who' Spinoff 'The War Between The Land And Sea' Confirmed, Starring Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw
The Kate Stewart/UNIT spinoff IS the Sea Devils spinoff!
Allons-y! After nearly two years of speculation, Doctor Who has finally confirmed its first scripted spinoff of the Disney+ partnership era, announcing the five-episode series The War Between the Land and the Sea at the “Into the Whoniverse” panel at San Diego Comic-Con.
The given synopsis reads “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.” This means that it indeed is the previously-reported UNIT spinoff and the discovered Sea Devils spinoff, all the same idea. Joining Jemma Redgrave reprising her role as Kate Stewart is Alexander Devrient, who first appeared as Colonel Ibrahim in last season’s two-part finale, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” and “Empire of Death”. The series stars faces familiar to Doctor Who as well, both from creator Russell T. Davies’s original stint as showrunner. They are Russell Tovey, the Arrowverse’s The Ray in “Crisis on Earth-X”, who played Midshipman Alonso Frame in “Voyage of the Damned” and “The End of Time” and Loki’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who appeared in four episodes as Tish Jones, companion Martha Jones’s sister, playing new characters.
Davies wrote this series with Who veteran Pete McTighe, who has written Thirteenth Doctor-era episodes “Kerblam!” from series 11 and “Praxeus” from series 12, as well as the wraparound segments of the Tales of the TARDIS for The Mind Robber and The Curse of Fenric. The series is directed by Dylan Holmes-Williams, director of last season’s “73 Yards” and “Dot and Bubble”. Filming begins next month, and unlike Tales of the TARDIS and the behind-the-scenes series Doctor Who Unleashed, this series will have the same distribution model as the mothership, airing on the BBC domestically and brought to the rest of the world legally by airing on Disney+.
Davies said “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.” BBC’s Director of Drama, Lindsay Salt said “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.”
That wasn’t the only big reveal at the panel, there was plenty for the main show too, so stay tuned as coverage continues.
Source: Doctor Who