Doctor Who Season 16: Renewal, Potential Release Date and Cast

Ncuti Gatwa’s second series in the TARDIS has seen plenty of adventures, including a clash with a horrific cartoon, a terrifying expedition on a familiar planet and a visit to space’s answer to the Eurovision Song Contest.

The two-part finale sees The Doctor trapped in a dystopian world controlled by an old face – Time Lady, the Rani.

The second half, The Reality War, airs on Saturday, 31 May 2025 at 6:50pm BST. However, if you’re already curious about the future of the show, and if Ncuti will return as the fifteenth Doctor, here is what we know.

Will Doctor Who return for season 16?

Typically, Doctor Who is always expected to return in some capacity or another, but many rumours have cast doubt over a possible season 16.

This is mainly down to the BBC’s deal with Disney, which currently airs the show internationally on its streaming platform, Disney+. So, that means that both the BBC and Disney must have a say in the show’s future.

The latest big rumour came from The Mirror, which alleged that Disney may be withdrawing its funding, and Gatwa may be leaving.

BBC/Disney/Bad Wolf Studios

However, the same article also stated that even if Disney were to exit the deal, it wouldn’t be the end for Doctor Who. The BBC would continue with production. We would also assume that the channel would likely find another licensing partner to work with globally.

On this story, the BBC provided the following statement:

“As we have previously stated, the decision on season 3 will be made after season 2 airs and any other claims are just pure speculation. The deal with Disney Plus was for 26 episodes – and we still have an entire spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, to air.”

Showrunner Russell T Davies has told The Radio Times that he has ideas for up to three more seasons, so at the very least, he is committed to keeping Doctor Who alive and kicking. But when it will return is another matter.

When could Doctor Who season 16 air?

Ncuti Gatwa did state on Graham Norton last October (via The Radio Times) that filming for season 16 (or as Disney calls it, season 3) will begin this year. However, that appears to have changed.

Davies has hinted on Newsround that there may be a pause until the next season, so fans may be in for a wait. As such, it’s hard to predict a release date with everything as uncertain as it is.

Disney/BBC/Bad Wolf

Will there be a Doctor Who Christmas Special this year?

While we got Doctor Who Christmas Specials in 2023 and 2024, a 2025 one sadly hasn’t been confirmed yet, as it wasn’t ordered with season 15. The decision will likely rest with whatever happens for season 16.

Will Ncuti Gatwa return as the fifteenth Doctor?

As mentioned above, it’s currently uncertain if Ncuti Gatwa is returning as the Fifteenth Doctor. He initially mentioned filming for another season, but many rampant rumours are suggesting that his run may be coming to an end.

Hopefully, we’ll learn more after the season 2 finale. We also don’t yet know if Varada Sethu will return as Belinda Chandra, as The Reality War is yet to air, so we don’t know the fate of this current companion.

There are plenty more characters that could return in some capacity or another, including Jonathan Groff as love interest Rogue, Jemma Redgrave as UNIT head honcho Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Carole Ann Ford as the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan.

Disney/BBC/Bad Wolf

What does the bigeneration mean for Doctor Who?

Major spoilers for The Giggle below

In the final 60th Anniversary Special, the fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) was mortally wounded by the Toymaker, a powerful figure who defies the laws of time and space. Because of this, the Doctor’s typical regeneration was disrupted, and something rather remarkable happened.

The fifteenth Doctor regenerated out of the fourteenth, leaving two fully formed Doctors with the same memories to work together to put an end to the Toymaker’s twisted games.

The pair succeeded, and even managed to materialise a second Tardis so neither Time Lord was left without a vessel – though the fifteenth Doctor was left without a pair of trousers.

Following the bigeneration, the fifteenth Doctor was eager to set out on a brand new adventure, and leave the troubles of his past behind – quite literally. The fourteenth Doctor was left with the Noble-Temple family to live a quiet, happy life and heal from the trauma of losing his past companions and bearing the burden of destroying parts of the universe during the Flux.

While the main series follows Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, David Tennant’s character is still alive and well. He may not be travelling around time and space as much, but keeping him on-side for cameos and potential spin-offs is an interesting idea.

However, the bigeneration has even bigger ramifications, according to Davies. In the commentary for the The Giggle (available on BBC iPlayer), he says the following:

I think all of the Doctors came back to life with their individual Tardises, the gift of the Toymaker, and they’re all out there travelling round in what I’m calling a Doctor verse… Sylvester McCoy woke up in a drawer, in a morgue, in San Francisco… and Jon Pertwee woke up on the floor of the laboratory

Bigeneration was apparently seen as a myth by the Time Lords prior to this event, but now that it’s been brought to fruition, anything is possible… as we saw with the Rani.

How can you watch Doctor Who in the US?

Disney+ is now the home for new episodes in the US. This was revealed alongside the new logo for the show. Accounts for this service start from $7.99 per month.

BBC/Disney/Bad Wolf Studios

If you’d rather watch episodes from the BBC, you can use a VPN to stream episodes on iPlayer as if you were in the UK. Bear in mind that this is a breach of the iPlayer terms of use since you won’t be paying the licence fee, but it will let you watch every episode of the show since the very beginning.

Warner Bros. used to have US streaming rights to the series for Max, so that’s where you’ll need to go to watch any and all Doctor Who from 2005 up until the end of Jodie’s era. Classic Who episodes are available on BritBox.

You can also read: 4 things these Doctor Who experts want from the new season, and David Tennant teases he’s working on a secret project.