“Doctor Who” Season Premiere: All the Info

a black man in a brown jacket, blue pants, and a striped shirt stands left of a blue telephone box, while a young white woman in a blue jacket, red shirt, and plaid skirt stands on the right.
New key art from ‘Doctor Who’. Used courtesy Disney+.

Things are no longer wibbly wobbly timey wimey as Doctor Who announces premiere information for new season.

On March 15, Disney+ announced that the new season will debut May 10 with two episodes. But the important news is that it will be released simultaneously in the UK and the US. Gone are the days when we had to wait (sometimes months) before getting it here in the United States. Heck: I remember when we had to go through ‘unofficial channels’ to get the episodes at all!

In fact, Disney+ will release the two episodes on May 10, 2024, at 7 pm EDT. Meanwhile, in the UK, the season kicks off May 11 at 12:00 am GMT on the BBC iPlayer, followed by BBC One later that day. This has made some British fans upset, apparently. The BBC version will also show a repeat of “The Church on Ruby Road” before the new episodes.

They also released new art and a gallery image of the new Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and announced that a new trailer will debut on March 22.

From the press release, showrunner, executive producer, and writer Russell T. Davies said: “At last, it’s my great delight to unleash a whole new season of the Doctor and Ruby’s adventures together. Monsters! Chases! Villains! Mysteries! And a terrifying secret that’s been spanning time and space for decades. Don’t miss a second!”

Other guest cast include Aneurin Barnard, Anita Dobson, Yasmin Finney, Michelle Greenidge, Jonathan Groff, Bonnie Langford, Genesis Lynea, Jemma Redgrave, Lenny Rush, Indira Varma, and Angela Wynter.

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) in a tunnel.
The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) in a tunnel. Photo by James Pardon and courtesy Bad Wolf/BBC Studios.

What the press release didn’t deal with was the news that Millie Gibson will be leaving at the end of this season, to be replaced by Varada Sethu. Rumors have been circulating as to why she is exiting the show after only one season. Some have wondered if she is leaving for the same reasons Christopher Eccleston did. But on the other hand, many fans note that many of the new series’ companions have only lasted a season and that this is no different. But the fact that the announcement came originally via The Daily Mail with no official response from either the BBC or Davies has many wondering.

Nevertheless, for this US fan, I’m excited to hear that we are actually getting it first and don’t have to wait. It’s the power of Disney, I guess, that is letting this happen.

If you’re new to Who, Davies has said that he has intentionally set up the Disney+ era to be a good starting point. He’s even calling this upcoming season ‘season 1’. However, if you want to catch up on a series that’s been around since 1963, what’s called new Who is available (in the US) on Max, while classic Who streams on Tubi. However, if you’re a UK fan, go no further than the “Whoniverse” section of the BBC iPlayer website for every available episode and access to the various spinoffs to boot.

In the meantime, the three 60th anniversary specials and Gatwa’s first full episode are both available on Disney+. And you don’t even need a TARDIS to get there.

Author: Angie Fiedler Sutton

Angie Fiedler Sutton is a writer, podcaster, and all-round fangirl geek. She has been published in Den of Geek, Stage Directions, LA Weekly, The Mary Sue, and others.

She also produces her own podcast, Contents May Vary, where she interviews geeky people about geeky things. You can see all her work (and social media channels) at angiefsutton.com.


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