A release date for Doctor Who season 15 appears to have been revealed thanks to a recent BBC promo trailer. The long-running series is a continuation of the even longer-running science fiction epic about an alien with regenerative powers known as the Doctor, who travels through time and space with a variety of companions, which ran for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989 before being rebooted in 2005. As of season 14, the current incarnation of the doctor is played by Ncuti Gatwa, who will be reprising the role of the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who season 15.
According to a new trailer from the BBC that aired during their broadcast of the Under 20s Six Nations Rugby tournament – which showcases Ncuti Gatwa’s return alongside Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday and new companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) – Doctor Who season 15 will debut on the BBC iPlayer on April 12. If this date is accurate, then the program will premiere on Disney+ on the same day. The ad was captured by X user @AMadmanNotABox and can be seen below:
What This Means For Doctor Who
The Release Date Is Surprisingly Soon
If the BBC and Disney+ release date indicated by the trailer is accurate, then it is surprisingly soon and indeed comes just two months after the time the teaser premiered. It also means that the series is set to return just four months after the 2024 Christmas special, which itself aired roughly six months after the Doctor Who season 14 finale premiered on June 22, 2024. Overall, the hiatus between seasons will last less than a year, which marks the shortest hiatus since the wait between 2007’s season 3 and 2008’s season 4 lasted just nine months and six days.
Since 2023, Disney+ has handled distribution of Doctor Who outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
While this date means that the show will potentially be following up on the Doctor Who season 14 ending sooner than expected, it seems like an unusual time for it to premiere. Disney+ will be premiering season 2 of their well-regarded Star Wars series Andor just 10 days later, and it seems unlikely that they would want to flood the market with two of their biggest science fiction IPs at the same time.
Our Take On The Doctor Who Release Date
It Could Ultimately Benefit The Show
Even if the new season of Doctor Who airs alongside the long-awaited Andor season 2, this could ultimately be the best thing for the BBC series. The wait for season 14 lasted roughly two and a half years, so putting the series on a more regular schedule after so much time could be very helpful in developing audiences’ connection with Gatwa’s iteration of the Doctor.
Source: BBC & @AMadmanNotABox/X
Doctor Who
5/10
- Release Date
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December 25, 2023
- Directors
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Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie
- Writers
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Russell T. Davies, Dave Gibbons, Kate Herron, Steven Moffat
- Franchise(s)
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Doctor Who