Disney and the BBC’s Disintegrated ‘Physician Who’ Deal Is Leaving Its Spinoff in Limbo

We already might inform simply from the way things went from the last few months that Disney and the BBC’s two-year partnership for Physician Who‘s newest period wasn’t going great—and that was earlier than we actually started getting a picture of simply how messy issues had been behind the scenes. However now we’ve simply received our newest instance of simply how unhealthy issues seemingly broke between the 2 studios: the previous few episodes of Physician Who materials commissioned as a part of Disney’s period will really air on the BBC properly earlier than they hit Disney+.

Though the BBC’s preliminary assertion on the conclusion of its cope with Disney already famous that The War Between the Land and the Sea would launch on BBC broadcast channels and the iPlayer streaming service this December, immediately the company confirmed that the series will formally launch December 7 with a two-part premiere within the UK, earlier than rolling out the remaining episodes weekly all through the rest of the month. It additionally additional reiterated that Conflict Between won’t see a simultaneous broadcast exterior of the UK on Disney+, with the collection nonetheless set to launch on the streamer at a at the moment undisclosed level in 2026.

io9 has reached out to Disney for clarification on Conflict Between‘s worldwide launch, with a spokesperson for the streamer solely reaffirming that the collection will broadcast on Disney+ in 2026.

No matter whether or not worldwide audiences are left ready weeks or months for the miniseries—which follows UNIT coping with the return of the Sea Devils, a race of historic precursor beings who’ve lived in Earth’s oceans since earlier than the daybreak of humanity—the present unique launch of Conflict Between within the UK strikes a broad distinction with how the previous few years of Physician Who have been broadcast each there and overseas on Disney+.

Controversially for UK fans, Physician Who‘s broadcast occasions for the previous two seasons had been switched to favor streaming-first releases to accommodate higher premiere occasions for US audiences watching on Disney+—a choice that seemingly contributed to the previous two seasons’ diminished audience figures, which was repeatedly famous by Disney as a crucial factor in its consideration over whether or not or to not renew its partnership with the BBC.

Now the BBC is taking its proverbial TARDIS-shaped ball and going residence, and whereas each Physician Who fan now has eyes on Christmas 2026 to see simply what the future of the main show seems to be like, worldwide audiences shall be left ready slightly longer for any slice of the Whoniverse they will get.

Need extra io9 information? Take a look at when to anticipate the most recent Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and the whole lot you could learn about the way forward for Doctor Who.