A New Doctor Who Spinoff Soars in Ratings Following Disney’s Departure
It’s been an exciting year for Doctor Who enthusiasts. The reboot’s second season featured Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, alongside Varada Setu as the no-nonsense nurse, Belinda Chandra. While the season kicked off with strong momentum, reactions to the show—especially the finale—were mixed among critics and fans. Nevertheless, this hasn’t deterred fans from diving into the new Doctor Who spinoff from Russell T. Davies and director Dylan Holmes Williams: The War Between Land and Sea.
The initial ratings for this new sci-fi series, set in the same universe as the iconic BBC franchise, were quite promising. The show debuted its first two episodes on December 7, attracting an audience of 2.8 million for the premiere and 2.1 million for the second episode. These figures, as noted by TV Zone UK, significantly surpass the overnight ratings for recent Doctor Who episodes.
What makes this achievement even more noteworthy is that the first two episodes aired simultaneously with the finale of one of the UK’s most popular reality shows, I’m A Celebrity. Despite the second episode of The War Between Land and Sea airing during the entire duration of the ITV show’s finale, it still managed to attract 400,000 more viewers than the BBC’s competing slot.
The success of these episodes comes on the heels of Disney ending its partnership with Doctor Who, following disappointing ratings and, according to an industry insider, the show being perceived as “too woke for Trump’s USA.” This sentiment was reportedly a consideration for Disney regarding a renewal, alongside the ratings and Gatwa’s decision to step away from the role after two seasons due to burnout.
Regardless, it’s clear that there remains a strong interest in the Doctor Who universe. The ratings suggest that the franchise can thrive even without the Time Lord at the forefront. Still, fans are left wondering if the Doctor might make a surprise appearance before the series wraps up.
The five-part series centers on Barclay (Russell Tovey), a low-level staff member of UNIT, the military organization that has encountered extraterrestrial beings (including the Doctor) countless times. However, even Barclay and UNIT find themselves in a tough spot when an ancient species, the Sea Devils, emerges from the depths. With little choice but to act as humanity’s representative, Barclay consults with the creature Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) for a summit. Meanwhile, UNIT’s leader, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), is determined to go above and beyond to safeguard humanity.
Other notable cast members include Colin McFarlane, Alexander Devrient, and Ruth Madeley.
The series adopts a much darker tone than what fans typically expect from Doctor Who, but as the overnight ratings indicate, this shift hasn’t deterred viewers. In fact, it might just be the fresh direction the show needed.
