The War Between The Land And The Sea: what we know about the Doctor Who spin-off
An all-star cast in the Doctor Who spin-off miniseries
![A sea devil in Legend of the Sea Devils from Doctor Who - The War Between The Land And The Sea](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nkiDekqaKWDsGigYQHURFH-320-80.jpg)
Since its noughties reboot we've seen a few spin-offs of Doctor Who and the next one has been officially confirmed at Comic-Con. The War Between The Land And The Sea is a new mini-series that shows humanity dealing with a threat without the Doctor.
The War Between The Land And The Sea looks at UNIT, a government organization that sometimes helps and sometimes hinders the Doctor and defends the earth when he's not around.
A five-part miniseries, the show has been confirmed with a few important details, but there's a lot more that we still don't know just yet.
So here we'll help you figure out everything that's been confirmed about The War Between The Land And The Sea, and we'll update it when new information is shared.
The War Between The Land And The Sea release date
We don't know a release date just yet for The War Between The Land And The Sea, but according to Disney, filming will begin in August. So it's likely that we'll have to wait until the new year to get a glimpse at the show.
We already know how to watch the miniseries though: it'll be released on Disney Plus everywhere around the world except in the UK, where it'll stream on iPlayer and will also air on BBC One.
The War Between The Land And The Sea plot
In The War Between The Land And The Sea, we'll be re-introduced to some returning faces from Doctor Who... except without the titular time traveler to help out.
The show is about a mysterious ancient species living in the Earth's oceans, the Sea Devils, which we've met in classic Doctor Who as well as a Jodie Whittaker episode in 2022 called Legend of the Sea Devils.
When the Sea Devils decide to reveal themselves to humankind, a war quickly erupts between the aquatic creatures and humans.
Trying to stop the war is UNIT, a classic faction from the world of Doctor Who, which has to try and work out what's going on.
The War Between The Land And The Sea cast
A few major names have been confirmed to join The War Between The Land And The Sea Cast — and before you ask no, the Doctor isn't making an official appearance (not ruling out a cameo, though!).
Two returning Doctor Who characters are returning. First up is Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the commander of UNIT who's a stalwart supporting character in the show. In the rebooted series she's been played by Holby City's Jemma Redgrave.
Then there's Colonel Christofer Ibrahim, a UNIT officer who's been in the last season of Doctor Who. He's played by Alexander Devrient, who you might have also seen in All The Old Knives.
Two new characters have been announced in unspecified roles. One is Russell Tovey, of Being Human and Quantico fame, who's actually already been in the main-series show in the Titanic-themed Christmas special 'Voyage of the Damned' and narrated a Doctor Who narrative podcast series back in 2008. Presumably, his new role has nothing to do with these appearances though.
The other is Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who has a long list of credits including Loki, the Beauty and the Beast remake, The Morning Show, Jupiter Ascending and a lot more. She too has been in Doctor Who before, playing the sister of one of the Doctor's companions, and given this more prominent role, it's possible that Mbatha-Raw will be reprising her old character.
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Tom is the streaming and ecommerce writer at What to Watch, covering streaming services in the US and UK. His goal is to help you navigate the busy and confusing online video market, to help you find the TV, movies and sports that you're looking for without having to spend too much money.