Everything we know about 2024's Doctor Who Season 1: Cast, episode count, release date, and more
The show is coming up to 60 years old, but who is counting?
If you’re confused by how the upcoming season of Doctor Who, which has been on the air intermittently since 1963, can be called Season 1, then you’re not alone. The iconic British sci-fi show, which features the quirky Time Lord jumping through time, is entering the 14th season of the New Who era, but it has been “rebranded” as Season 1 in an effort to help new audiences connect with the show.
Wondering what to expect from the 2024 season of Doctor Who? Here is everything we know so far.
Doctor Who Season One Cast
Details are still tight on the plot surrounding Doctor Who season 1, which also means we don’t know exactly who is playing what role in the upcoming season. While we’ve known that Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa would be taking over as the Fifteenth Doctor, there are still some actors whose roles haven’t been confirmed.
The current cast list for Doctor Who season 1 is:
- Ncuti Gatwa as The Fifteenth Doctor
- Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday
- Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart
- Aneurin Barnard as Roger ap Gwilliam
- Indira Barma as The Duchess
- Lenny Rush as Morris
- Bonnie Langford as Mel Bush
- Anita Dobson as Mrs. Flood
- Jinkx Monsoon in an undisclosed role
- Michelle Greenidge in an undisclosed role
- Jonathan Groff in an undisclosed role
When will Doctor Who season 1 come out?
As is tradition, there will be a handful of special episodes of Doctor Who that air during the holiday season 2023. These will primarily be starring David Tennant, who is returning to the show as the Fourteenth Doctor, having previously played the Tenth Doctor in the second, third, and fourth series. However, Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor will star in one of the specials, due to air on Christmas Day 2023.
That doesn’t mean that the new season 1 of Doctor Who will debut this year, though. There isn’t a firm release date for the upcoming season just yet. A previous report stated that it was due out in Spring 2024, but that information has since been deleted from the BBC website. All we know for sure is that the new season of Doctor Who will air sometime in 2024.
How many episodes will be in Doctor Who season 1?
Doctor Who seasons have notoriously uneven episode counts, so you never really know how long each season will be. For Doctor Who season 1 in 2024, we know that there will be eight episodes total, not including the 2023 holiday special that is airing on Christmas Day. The upcoming season has reportedly already finished filming with production on the 2025 season already underway, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Why is the 2024 season being called Doctor Who season 1?
The short answer to this is marketing. For the first time, the BBC is teaming up with Disney+ to help distribute the upcoming season of Doctor Who to an international audience. To avoid confusion – and to help entice new viewers who might be intimidated by the sheer amount of Doctor Who content produced over the last sixty years – the 2024 season is being called Season 1 by the showrunners and cast.
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