Whovians, take an enormous, deep breath. After months of untamed hypothesis, loopy rumors, skilled back-biting, awkward questions, countless debate, and basic sturm und drang throughout the fandom, we are able to lastly say it: Physician Who is coming again, and the BBC has formally introduced a Christmas particular for 2026. To what’s doubtless the shock of nobody, nevertheless, it’ll be doing it with out Disney, who has reportedly declined to proceed their partnership of the final two seasons and can minimize ties following the printed of the forthcoming spinoff, The Struggle Between the Land and the Sea.
To say all of us anticipated that is one thing of an understatement, however the official renewal information will come as a welcome reduction to nearly everybody with even a passing affection for the present. The BBC has been remarkably agency in its dedication to the collection, insisting that it was “going nowhere” nearly any time it had the possibility to touch upon the topic. However Physician Who has existed in a weird limbo since season 15 ended earlier this yr with a chaotic (and usually not nice) finale that noticed Ncuti Gatwa’s Physician regenerate, introduced again former companion Billie Piper in a weird and nonetheless undisclosed position, and left a murky and messy path ahead for the 60-something sci-fi traditional. And followers have been… let’s simply name it, sad in regards to the uncertainty surrounding the present’s future.
Now, we are able to all chill out. The BBC has already introduced that Physician Who will return for a Christmas particular in 2026, and confirmed that they “will announce plans for the subsequent collection in the end to make sure the Physician’s adventures proceed.” That is most likely about as a lot as they can inform us, on condition that we do not know who the subsequent Physician might be, and the legalities of the Disney state of affairs doubtless meant that the oldsters behind the scenes haven’t precisely been engaged on a casting search of late. (Prepare for eight million thinkpieces on who will or ought to play Sixteen, since everyone knows it’s not Piper.)
As for what we do know, it’s sparse, however price occupied with. The 2026 Christmas particular might be penned by present showrunner Russell T. Davies, indicating that he’s nonetheless holding the reins of the TARDIS for no less than the foreseeable future. (Does that imply he’ll nonetheless be showrunner when the subsequent full collection lands? Perhaps! However perhaps not!) Subsequent yr’s installment should do fairly a little bit of clean-up when it comes to explaining regardless of the heck occurred on the finish of “The Actuality Struggle,” take care of the Piper state of affairs, and introduce whoever the subsequent Physician seems to be. And what that may in the end seem like is anybody’s guess.
