While Doctor Who's future is currently far from a sure thing (more on that in a moment), we have at least one more season with Ncuti Gatwa in the TARDIS to get excited about. We're also just a few short weeks away from this year's Christmas special.
Last year's focused on Gawta's first adventure as the Doctor, though this effort looks like a far more light-hearted, festive adventure.
In "Joy to the World," when Joy checks into a London hotel in 2024, she opens a secret doorway to the Time Hotel - discovering danger, dinosaurs and the Doctor. But a deadly plan is unfolding across the Earth, just in time for Christmas.
The special stars Gatwa (Sex Education) as the Doctor and Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton) as Joy. Additional cast includes Steph de Whalley as Anita, Jonathan Aris as Melnak, Joel Fry as Trev, Peter Benedict as Basil, Julia Watson as Hilda, and Niamh Marie Smith as Sylvia.
"Joy to the World" is executive produced and written by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Sherlock) and directed by Alex Sanjiv Pillai (Riverdale, Bridgerton). Russell T Davies is showrunner and executive producer. Additional executive producers are Joel Collins, Phil Collinson, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter.
Disney+ is reportedly to be unhappy with Doctor Who's performance on the platform after investing heavily in the show. As a result, what once looked set to be a long-term deal is now set to be reassessed any day now (original plans called for at least three seasons and numerous spin-offs).
It appears the series is close to losing Gatwa because a source tells them that "he might not be long for the job" due to exploring other roles.
In July, we learned that Disney is expected to step in once The War Between the Land and the Sea spin-off wraps, and a decision should be made quite quickly from there. One source believes the season 2 finale has been shot in a way to allow Gatwa to move on from the series, hinting that another creative overhaul might take place.
The prospect of Disney+ parting ways with the BBC and Doctor Who has been described as a "disaster" by one source.
Doctor Who is produced by Bad Wolf, with BBC Studios for Disney Branded Television and BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The Christmas special premieres on Disney+ and on the BBC on December 25.
Watch the trailer for "Joy to the World" (via SFFGazettze.com) below.