David Tennant and Catherine Tate rejoin the cast of Doctor Who for three 60th anniversary specials as the series finds its new home on Disney+.
The specials will have a near-global debut on Disney+, airing on the BBC only in the U.K. and Ireland. The Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Temple-Noble (Catherine Tate) reunite to take on the Whoverse’s most terrifying villain yet: The Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris).
Yasmin Finney plays Rose Temple-Noble, Miriam Margolyes is the voice of the Meep, and Ruth Madeley is Shirley Anne Bingham. Jacqueline King returns as Sylvia Nobel, Karl Collins as Shaun Temple, and Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart.
The episodes make their streaming debut with “The Star Beast” on November 25, followed by “Wild Blue Yonder” on December 2, and “The Giggle” on December 9. Last fall, Disney Branded Television and the BBC partnered to bring the series to a global audience. From the trailer, we can see the cinematography has been spruced up with more of a Disney polish than in previous episodes.
As long-time fans of the series may remember, it is vital that Donna doesn’t remember the Doctor, so it should be interesting to see how they join forces with that plot point in mind.
The 60th-anniversary episodes stream ahead of the next season, welcoming Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and showrunner Russell T. Davies. The new season will stream globally on Disney+ and air on the BBC in the U.K. and Ireland in 2024.
The series is the longest-running science fiction series in the world, with a fanbase reaching 9.6 million across social platforms and channels. The specials are written by Russel T. Davies and directed by Rachel Talalay, Tom Kingsley, and Chanya Button. Doctor Who Bad Wolf and BBC Studios produce.
Check out the trailer for the first-ever Doctor Who episodes on Disney+ here.