The cast of the latest Doctor Who spin-off is shaping up. After showrunner Russell T. Davies posted to Instagram that production had begun on The War Between the Land and the Sea, we now have our first look at the cast, including some surprise additions. In a post to social media, the cast posed for a photo after the table read. Cast members such as Jemma Redgrave, and Russell Tovey were there as expected, but shockingly, fans also got to see that Ruth Madeley is now among the cast.
Madeley is reprising her role as UNIT’s scientific advisor, Shirley Anne Bingham. We first met Shirley during the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special, “The Star Beast”. She was absent for the first series of Ncuti Gatwa’s tenure as The Doctor, but now it looks like Shirley is back. There’s also one more addition to the cast fans may not have expected to see: Colin McFarlane. He starred as General Austin Pierce in the 2009 miniseries Torchwood: Children of Earth a whopping 15 years ago and reprises his role in the new series. Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Alexander Devrient round out the already announced cast in the photo.
We Finally Got a UNIT Spin-Off: What is ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ About?
It was confirmed at San Diego Comic Con that a long-hoped for UNIT spin-off was finally happening. The question was posed by Davies at SDCC “What happens when the Doctor isn’t in town?” and the show looks to demonstrate just that. Redgrave has played Kate Stewart, now head of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT), since first appearing in the Doctor Who episode “The Power of Three” (there was also a brief appearance of the character played by a different actress in the 90s.) Kate is the daughter of the late Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), moving up in the ranks of UNIT over the course of the series, holding her own, separate from her father’s legacy.
The spin-off will feature the Classic Who villains, the Sea Devils, and the synopsis is as follows:
When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT steps into action as the land and sea wage war. Created by “Doctor Who” showrunner and executive producer Russell T Davies, who wrote the spinoff with Pete McTighe (“A Discovery of Witches,” “The Pact,” “Doctor Who”), the series features the triumphant return of the Sea Devils, classic “Doctor Who” villains first seen in 1972.
The series will consist of 5 episodes, but hopefully, fans will want to see more of the UNIT team. There is not currently a timeline for when The War Between the Land and the Sea will hit Disney+ or BBC iPlayer.
You can catch up on the first season of Doctor Who now on Disney+ in the US.