With the Doctor Who Season 2 finale coming up — it will drop on Disney+ on Saturday, May 31 — it’s a good time to look at what we know about its future.
Starting with the 60th anniversary specials in 2023, Doctor Who has been produced by Bad Wolf, with BBC Studios for Disney Branded Television and BBC One and BBC iPlayer. But will the Time Lord (now, played by Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion continue to have adventures throughout time and space? Read on for everything we know so far about a third season, from the potential cast to where to watch it and more.
Has Doctor Who been renewed for Season 3?
Not yet. Given past comments from the BBC, though, we shouldn’t be worried about that.
“The decision on season 3 will be made after season 2 airs,” a spokesperson for the show told RadioTimes.com in February 2025. “The deal with Disney Plus was for 26 episodes – and exactly half of those still have to transmit. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines.”
Wait, why would there be three Doctor Who Season 3s?
Yes, you read that correctly. Doctor Who originally premiered in 1963 and ran for 26 seasons, until 1989. It was then revived in 2005 with the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), at which point it started over with Season 1 and ran for 13 seasons. Then, after the 2023 specials (including the Christmas one), the count started over again at Season 1 with the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) for the episodes that premiered in 2024.
Who would be the Doctor in Doctor Who Season 3?
Nothing has been said about Ncuti Gatwa leaving, so we can assume he’d be back as the (Fifteenth) Doctor. That would also track with what we’ve seen from Doctors in recent years.
The number of seasons for each Doctor is as follows: William Hartnell‘s First Doctor (three), Patrick Troughton‘s Second Doctor (three), Jon Pertwee‘s Third Doctor (five), Tom Baker‘s Fourth Doctor (seven), Peter Davison‘s Fifth Doctor (three), Colin Baker‘s Sixth Doctor (two), Sylvester McCoy‘s Seventh Doctor (three), Paul McGann‘s Eighth Doctor (one TV movie), Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor (one), David Tennant‘s Tenth Doctor (three), Matt Smith‘s Eleventh Doctor (three), Peter Capaldi‘s Twelfth Doctor (three), Jodie Whittaker‘s Thirteenth Doctor (three), and David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor (three specials).
Who else would be in the Doctor Who Season 3 cast?
That’s unclear beyond the usual guest casts for each episode. The Doctor needs a companion, and so far Gatwa’s has had two: Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu). Ruby did leave behind adventures with the Doctor, though she did return for a few Season 2 episodes. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the finale to see if Belinda continues to travel with the Doctor — remember, she started off doing so reluctantly because he couldn’t get her home — or if Ruby decides to return to that life. Or maybe a new season would feature a new companion just like the current one did.
When would Doctor Who Season 3 premiere?
It’s hard to say. Not only would it depend on filming, but Doctor Who has never stuck to a set schedule. Since the sci-fi series returned in 2005, there have been new episodes every year, though some have just had a Christmas or other special versus a full season. Therefore, it is possible that, should there be a Doctor Who Season 3, it doesn’t premiere until 2026.
Will there be a Doctor Who 2025 Christmas special?
The annual event has yet to be announced for this December and one wasn’t part of the aforementioned order of this set of 26 episodes. We’ll have to wait to see if that means we won’t get one or news is coming separately about it.
What would Doctor Who Season 3 be about?
Beyond the Doctor and his companion traveling through time and space, it’s impossible to say.
Where can you rewatch previous Doctor Who episodes?
This is where it gets complicated! The episodes featuring the First through the Seventh Doctors are available on BritBox. The TV movie with the Eighth Doctor isn’t available anywhere. The episodes featuring the Ninth Doctor through the Thirteenth are on Max. And everything from the 60th anniversary specials on are available on Disney+.