Big news for Doctor Who fans in the UK today. BBC Studios has confirmed that new five-part thriller, The War Between the Land and the Sea, will launch with a double-bill on December 7, 2025. The news was announced today with the debut of two new pieces of artwork for the series.
The five-part series follows Barclay (Russell Tovey), a low-level UNIT staff member whose ordinary life becomes a world of terror when an ancient species rises from the sea. Barclay becomes humanity’s ambassador when the mysterious Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) emerges from the Tank at a summit on the Thames. UNIT, led by Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), fights for control as humanity faces destruction.
Alongside Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Jemma Redgrave, the series features a star-studded cast including Ruth Madeley as Shirley Bingham, Alexander Devrient as Colonel Christofer Ibrahim, and Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce. Other previously announced cast members include Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Francesca Corney, Mei Mac, Vincent Franklin, Waleed Hammad, Iestyn Arwel, Hannah Donaldson, Manpreet Bachu, and Ann Akinjirin.
Tovey and Mbatha-Raw take centre stage in both new pieces of artwork for the show which you can check out below:
The series is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television and will launch with a double bill on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK at 8:30pm on Sunday 7 December, and exclusively on Disney+ outside of the UK (where available) in 2026.
The series was created by Doctor Who Showrunner and Executive Producer Russell T Davies, who has written the series with Executive Producer Pete McTighe. In addition, Executive Producers for Bad Wolf are Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter.
The series is directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, with Lorne Balfe serving as the show’s composer.
