Last fall, Disney and the BBC announced that they had joined forces to bring the long-running sci-fi series, Doctor Who, to a global audience. Today, the trailer and premiere dates were finally revealed for this year's three new 60th-anniversary specials which are set to debut on Disney+ globally except in the UK and Ireland, where they will air on the BBC.
The three specials, titled "The Star Beast" (November 25), "Wild Blue Yonder" (December 2) and "The Giggle "(December 9) will reunite the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Temple-Noble (Catherine Tate) as they come face-to-face with their most terrifying villain yet: the Toymaker (played by Neil Patrick Harris in his Doctor Who debut).
Additional confirmed cast members include Yasmin Finney as Rose Temple-Noble, Miriam Margolyes as the voice of the Meep and Ruth Madeley as Shirley Anne Bingham, as well as returning characters Jacqueline King as Sylvia Noble, Karl Collins as Shaun Temple, and Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart.
Doctor Who is the longest-running action-adventure television series in the world spanning 60 years and winning over 100 awards. This quintessentially British show has a huge global following, with 9.6m fans across social platforms/channels and 100m video views on YouTube in the last year alone.
The show is produced by Bad Wolf and BBC Studios and returns under the creative vision of returning showrunner Russell T. Davies, who also serves as a writer and executive producer. Additional executive producers include Phil Collinson, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter.
The 60th-anniversary specials are written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Rachel Talalay, Tom Kingsley, and Chanya Button, respectively. BBC Studios is handling global distribution.
Ncuti Gatwa takes control of the TARDIS as the Fifteenth Doctor over the festive period and the new season of Doctor Who will stream globally in 2024 on Disney+ and on the BBC in the UK and Ireland.
Check out an exciting new look at the series below.
Doctor Who is the longest running science fiction television series in the world. The very first episode “An Unearthly Child” aired back in 1963, and this much beloved brand has been inspiring and entertaining audiences globally for an incredible 60 years. The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord “The Doctor” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friend(s).
The Doctor and companion’s journey through time and space in the TARDIS - a time-travelling ship shaped like a police box - saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery and kindness. Orbiting around them is the wider Whoniverse - infinite galaxies and countless civilizations filled with incredible friends and dangerous foes. These are worlds ripe for exploration. Worlds full of surprising stories, characters, emotions, and entertainment.