Posted in: BBC, Disney+, TV | Tagged: doctor who, the war between the land and the sea

Doctor Who Spinoff "The War Between the Land and the Sea" Previewed

The War Between the Land and the Sea is a Doctor Who spinoff starring Jemma Redgrave, Alexander Devrient, Russell Tovey, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

It's not like the second season finale of Showrunner Russell T. Davies' Ncuti Gatwa (The Fifteenth Doctor) and Varada Sethu (Belinda)-starring Doctor Who wasn't already reason enough to be excited about today. But heading into S02E08: "The Reality War," the word went out that we would also be getting our best look yet at the upcoming Jemma Redgrave (Kate Lethbridge-Stewart), Alexander Devrient (Colonel Ibrahim), Russell Tovey (Barclay), and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Salt)-starring, UNIT-focused spinoff series The War Between the Land and the Sea. While we don't have a specific date yet, the teaser above does an excellent job setting a very intense and dire tone.

Doctor Who: "Land/Sea" Spinoff Going for "Indie," "Gritty" Vibe: Tovey

"It has been one of the most joyful jobs I've ever done. Every day was just brilliant. I love the character I play. I love the cast and crew. I think what we have a responsibility as actors, yes to the role, yes to the script, yes to that, but we have responsibility when we get to walk on set to be kind and to be honest and to be vulnerable. And I think as I get older and every single project I do, I make sure that when I walk onto set, I am kind and that's all I can do," Tovey shared during an interview with Variety that hit earlier this year. "I was number one on this show, and from day one I was like, 'It's not a struggle for me to be kind.' I know the ripples that come from being a really good number one and being a really good team player and being kind on set. We've all worked with people who aren't as generous with their kindness or their good energy, and it makes for a really uncomfortable, unsatisfying and sometimes upsetting experience. It makes it harder for you to be vulnerable because it makes you anxious."

Tovey continued, noting that Davies was a perfect example of the kind of person you want during production. "This project was just beautiful. Russell T Davies is just the best person because he will text, he will watch the dailies every day, and he will text everybody, all the head of apartments, all the actors. 'That was great. Wow, I love that, the way you did this line,' every single person. And he says he never repeats the same text as someone else in case people have sat next to each other and they suddenly see that he's just copy and pasting the same text. But that is galvanizing for a cast and crew. Is that your head man? The head honcho is so on top of everything and watching and complimentary."

In terms of how much backstory Doctor Who fans should be aware of going into it, Tovey notes that the spinoff is a "refresh" of the "WHO-niverse" stories that came before it. "Oh, God, what should the diehard 'Doctor Who' fans know about? Well, the story of these creatures has appeared in 'Doctor Who' episodes, it might have been the '60s and maybe again, but this has been a refresh of that," Tovey shared. "You've got members of UNIT in there. Jemma Redgrave is so brilliant. She's the same character [Kate Lethbridge-Stewart] in this, but it's so elevated. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is in prosthetics and phenomenal. I don't know how she does it. I think it's got everything for the 'Doctor Who' world, but it also feels completely fresh. What Dylan Holmes Williams, 'Who's' director, feels like an indie film. I wanted it to feel gritty and indie and dynamic in that way. And they were like, 'Absolutely.'"

Created and executive-produced by Davies, who is co-writing with Pete McTighe (A Discovery of Witches, The Pact, Doctor Who), the five-part series sees Redgrave, Devrient, Tovey, and Mbatha-Raw being joined by Ruth Madeley (Shirley Ann Bingham), Colin McFarlane (General Austin Pierce), Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Vincent Franklin, Francesca Corney, Mei Mac, Waleed Hammad, Iestyn Arwel, Hannah Donaldson, Manpreet Bachu, and Ann Akinjirin. Dylan Holmes-Williams ("73 Yards," "Dot and Bubble") directs – with Davies penning Episodes 1 & 5, Pete Tighe penning Episodes 2 & 3, and both Davies and Tighe penning Episode 4.

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