The BBC and Disney could have introduced they are going their separate methods after two seasons of “Physician Who” — the present will return with a Christmas particular in 2026 — however there’s nonetheless yet another collaboration to come back. The well-known Time Lord is sitting this journey out, however “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” could be very a lot part of the Whoniverse.
Following within the footsteps of earlier “Who” spin-offs “Torchwood”, “The Sarah Jane Adventures”, and “Class”, the brand new five-part collection resurrects traditional “Physician Who” monsters, the Sea Devils, aka the Silurians’ watery cousins. They are not completely satisfied about the way in which the human race has been mistreating the oceans, and are able to take the battle to the land.
Lengthy-serving “Physician Who” boss Russell T Davies is the brains behind a brand new drama that is focusing on an older demographic than the Physician’s ongoing adventures within the TARDIS. He is additionally assembled a big-name forged — together with some acquainted buddies from UNIT — for a collection that is set to make its long-awaited debut in December 2025. Right here’s every little thing you might want to learn about “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea”.
“The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” launch date
The BBC has confirmed that “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” will make landfall within the UK on Sunday, December 7, 2025. The five-part season will kick off with a double invoice, launching concurrently on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8.30 pm GMT.
Subsequent episodes will debut by December, with showrunner/creator Russell T Davies confirming that, “All 5 episodes will mix to make a terrific field set to look at over the Christmas holidays.”
Sadly, nonetheless, viewers residing in different areas of time and house must wait. Whereas the final two seasons of “Physician Who” have dropped concurrently on the BBC within the UK and on Disney+ in different territories, “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” will not launch till 2026 on Disney+ (date TBC).
How one can watch “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea”
“The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” might be out there to look at within the UK on BBC iPlayer from Sunday, December 7, 2025. Worldwide viewers must wait till 2026 for the five-part collection to hit Disney+.
For those who’re a UK resident travelling abroad when it launches, you may nonetheless watch “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” for FREE on BBC iPlayer.
Sadly, geoblocking restrictions imply that iPlayer would not work outdoors of the UK, however a VPN can resolve that drawback. A VPN, or Digital Non-public Community, permits you to stream your favorite content material from wherever by altering your IP deal with to at least one in a unique nation, letting you entry streaming providers simply as should you have been sitting in your couch again residence.
What’s the plot of “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea”?
Very similar to “Youngsters of Earth”, 2009’s sensible third season of “Torchwood”, the newest “Physician Who” spin-off sees the human race coping with a risk to its very existence — however crucially, with out the assistance of the Physician.
In “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea”, an historical aquatic species referred to as the Sea Devils emerges from the oceans, introducing themselves to their land-dwelling neighbors (us) and kicking off a world disaster within the course of. The alien specialists at UNIT (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) subsequently play a pivotal function in negotiations, as a lowly agent named Barclay (Russell Tovey) reluctantly enters talks with Sea Satan counterpart Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked).
“[The Sea Devils] get up and so they see the state of the oceans that we’ve put [them] in,” Davies stated at San Diego Comedian-Con in 2024. “We have now wrecked the place, and it’s warfare. And it is warfare on an epic scale.” (If “Youngsters of Earth” is something to go by, the truth that this explicit drawback is of our personal making is presumably the rationale for the Physician’s no-show.)
With its environmental edge and darker themes, the brand new drama is focused at a extra grown-up viewers than the mum or dad present. “I needed to point out the BBC what this universe is able to, and the potential that it has, and the punch that it might probably ship,” Davies instructed Empire in November. “It’s totally 2025 in its bones. We even take care of the water corporations and their profiteering bosses, laughing in our faces. In a collection concerning the water you must!”
The place have we seen the Sea Devils earlier than “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea”?
Descended from the land-based, prehistoric Silurians, the Sea Devils are an historical reptilian race, and one of many few “Physician Who” antagonists to have originated on Earth.
They made their first look reverse the Third Physician (Jon Pertwee) in 1972 “Physician Who” serial “The Sea Devils”, and have since confronted off in opposition to Peter Davison’s Fifth Physician (in 1984’s “Warriors of the Deep”) and the Thirteenth Physician (2022’s “Legend of the Sea Devils”).
The truth that the Sea Devils already existed in “Who” canon was a blessing for Davies and the story he needed to inform.
“Once they first approached me about coming again to ‘Physician Who’ in 2021, [‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’] was the primary little bit of my pitch,” he instructed Radio Instances. “I had this concept individually first. However weirdly, it wants the ‘Physician Who’ setting. If I simply go and pitch this chilly, saying, ‘There’s a race of creatures that reside within the sea…’, they’d say, ‘Actually? You certain?’ The pre-existence of the Sea Devils takes all the issues out of it.”
Any followers watching the Sea Devils’ earlier appearances (during which they seemed extra like bipedal turtles than people) could have famous that the species has been by one thing of a makeover for “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea”. Whereas the primary trailer (see under) incorporates a transient sighting of a extra conventional member of the species, lead Sea Satan Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked) appears distinctly extra human than her predecessors — an evolution akin to the glow-up given to Madame Vastra and different Silurians within the new “Who” period. It isn’t but clear whether or not there’s an in-universe rationalization for this new, extra human styling — is Salt a homo sapien/Sea Satan hybrid, maybe? — or whether or not it is a storytelling choice to make it simpler for a pivotal character to specific her feelings.
One different factor to notice concerning the newest era of Sea Devils: Davies has revealed that, I the brand new present, “It is racist to say Sea Satan” — apparently they now desire to be known as “Homo Aqua”.
Is there a “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” trailer?
The primary teaser debuted on Could 31, 2025 (see above). Within the “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” trailer introduces the important thing gamers within the drama (Barclay, Salt, some pleasant UNIT faces), in addition to navy {hardware}, epic political conferences, and what seem like Sea Satan eggs. There are additionally, as you’d anticipate, loads of pictures of each the land and the ocean.
“We may make a distinction, you and I,” Salt tells Barclay in her voiceover. “Finish the battle between our species. Earlier than it is too late.”
Sadly, Barclay seems to be fairly much less sure about his suitability for this surprising new function: “I do not know why you selected me, for any of this,” he counters.
He has till December to work that out — the destiny of two worlds may rely on it…
“The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” forged
There are many acquainted “Physician Who” faces in “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” forged, although two of them have model new roles.
Russell Tovey (“Being Human”, “Years and Years”) beforehand performed Midshipman Alonso Body within the 2007 Christmas particular “Voyage of the Damned”, whereas Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked (“Loki“, “Floor”) was Tish Jones, sister of “Physician Who” companion Martha, within the third season of the present’s Twenty first-century revival.
Tovey will play Barclay, a low-level UNIT operative who unexpectedly turns into humanity’s consultant in negotiations with the Sea Devils. Mbatha-Uncooked, in the meantime, is buried beneath in depth prosthetics as Salt, a member of the Sea Satan delegation who makes waves at a world summit on the Thames.
Jemma Redgrave is again to go up UNIT in her recurring “Physician Who” function as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, alongside fellow “Physician Who” vets Alexander Devrient (the delicate face of UNIT muscle, Colonel Christofer Ibrahim) and Ruth Madeley (scientific advisor Shirley Bingham).
Touring additional again into Whoniverse historical past, Colin McFarlane reprises his “Youngsters of Earth” function as Common Austin Pierce, a consultant of the US navy. Happening earlier kind, do not be shocked if Pierce’s presence will get in the way in which of peace negotiations.
Different members of “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” forged — actual roles but to be formally confirmed — embody Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Francesca Corney, Mei Mac, Vincent Franklin, Waleed Hammad, Iestyn Arwel, Hannah Donaldson, Manpreet Bachu, and Ann Akinjirin.
“The Battle Between the Land and the Sea” crew
“Physician Who” overlord Russell T Davies is creator, government producer, and showrunner on this new spin-off present, working alongside common collaborators Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter from manufacturing firm Dangerous Wolf.
Davies has shared writing duties with Pete McTighe, whose earlier credit embody long-running Aussie cleaning soap “Neighbours”, “Prisoner Cell Block H” reboot “Wentworth”, supernatural Sky drama “A Discovery of Witches”, and BBC One thriller “The Pact”. McTighe additionally has loads of “Physician Who” on his resumé, together with Thirteenth Physician period episodes “Kerblam!” and “Praxeus” (he additionally wrote the Goal novelization of “Kerblam!”), Fifteenth Physician journey “Fortunate Day”, and a few vignettes in sixtieth anniversary anthology “Tales of the TARDIS”.
Dylan Holmes Williams, who helmed “Who” episodes “73 Yards” and “Dot and Bubble“, is the director for all 5 episodes of “The Battle Between the Land and the Sea”. Lorne Balfe (whose quite a few display screen credit embody “Black Widow”, “Mission: Unattainable — Useless Reckoning”, and Wallace & Gromit’s most up-to-date outing, “Vengeance Most Fowl”) is on soundtrack responsibility.
The place can I watch the earlier Sea Devils episodes?
As with most episodes of “Physician Who”, “The Sea Devils”, “Warriors of the Deep”, and “Legend of the Sea Devils” are all out there on BBC iPlayer.
A brand new, re-edited model of the unique “The Sea Devils” from 1972 will debut on BBC iPlayer and BBC 4 on December 7, reworking the unique six-part serial right into a 90-minute TV film. It’s going to additionally function up to date sound design and an “enhanced rating”.
