Get ready to celebrate the holidays with some timey-wimey shenanigans. Disney+ unveiled the official trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special today.
The special, titled “Joy to the World,” features Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor, as well as special guest star Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton). The story follows Coughlan as she checks into a London hotel and ends up opening a secret doorway to the “Time Hotel”. In doing so, she encounters danger, dinosaurs, and the Doctor – plus a deadly plan unfolding across Earth, just in time for Christmas. (Because as Whovians know, there’s always a potentially world-ending alien incursion on Christmas.)
Check out the trailer for Doctor Who’s “Joy to the World” special below.
Gatwa made his first full-episode debut in Doctor Who in last year’s Christmas special, “The Church on Ruby Road”. This upcoming special will slot in between his first and second season leading the long-running sci-fi series.
Gatwa’s tenure has been overseen by showrunner Russell T. Davies; Davies helmed Doctor Who’s return to television back in 2005, before handing the reins to Steven Moffat in 2010. He recently took over the series yet again for its 60th anniversary specials, heading into the Fifteenth Doctor’s run. Davies and Moffat will unite for “Joy to the World”, with Moffat writing, Davies showrunning, and both executive producing.
The 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special “Joy to the World” will premiere on Disney+ in the US at 9:10am PST / 12:10pm EST on December 25. (For those curious, the slightly unconventional timing is so that the streaming time will align with the simultaneous linear broadcast on BBC One in the UK.)
US fans can stream the 60th anniversary specials and Gatwa’s first season on Disney+ now. Seasons 1-13 are currently available on Max.
