Will there be a The War Between the Land and the Sea Season 2? Renewed or canceled? and everything we know so far

The War Between the Land and the Sea Season 2 has not been officially renewed as of Monday, December 22, 2025, and there is also no official cancellation. The five-part Doctor Who spin-off was commissioned and marketed as a limited, event-style story, led by Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw alongside UNIT regulars including Jemma Redgrave and Alexander Devrient.

It was created by Russell T Davies and co-written with Pete McTighe, produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios, and built around a single crisis that brings Homo Aqua, also known as the Sea Devils, back into the spotlight.

All five episodes have now aired in the UK after a compressed, double-banked rollout, which is why Season 2 questions are trending again. The other key factor is the business context, as the BBC has confirmed that Disney+ will not partner on future seasons of Doctor Who, which could shape how any follow-up spin-off is funded and distributed.

The War Between the Land and the Sea Season 2 renewal status: What’s confirmed right now

As of December 22, there is no official Season 2 greenlight for The War Between the Land and the Sea, and no official “canceled” call either. What is confirmed is how it was commissioned in the first place. The original announcement positioned it as a “five-part series” for Disney+ and the BBC, with the story designed as a contained event rather than an open-ended procedural.

That limited framing matters because the show is not built like a monster-of-the-week spin-off. In assessing the odds of more, outlets note that it is “a story-led series” tied to a specific incident, which naturally makes a straightforward Season 2 less likely unless the team chooses a new structure or a new crisis.

The biggest external variable is the changing partnership model around Doctor Who. In the BBC’s October update on the franchise’s future, the site stated that Disney+ has confirmed it “will not be partnering on the next season” of Doctor Who. As per DoctorWho.tv’s report dated October 28, 2025, Director of Drama, BBC, Lindsay Salt said,

"We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea. The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026."

She added further,

"We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”

Put simply, even if there is creative appetite, the practical path to more The War Between the Land and the Sea may be different from how Season 1 was packaged. The spin-off was commissioned as part of the BBC’s co-production and distribution arrangement with Disney, and that deal has now ended, which could affect timelines and partners if anyone wants to extend this corner of the Whoniverse.

What have Russell T Davies and Pete McTighe said about whether the story continues?

The clearest “intent” signal so far is that the showrunners have described the narrative as complete. As per RadioTimes.com’s report dated December 21, 2025, Co-showrunner Russell T Davies said,

“It’s a complete story – it absolutely ends... and I will say, stay tuned for the very end, keep watching.”

That does not block future stories, but it sets expectations. A continuation would likely need to be conceived as a new chapter, or a new format, rather than simply “more episodes” of the same incident. It also aligns with how the series was positioned from the start, as a big swing designed to feel consequential even without the Doctor physically present. As per Disney Plus Press’s report dated July 26, 2024, Russell T Davies said,

“I’m so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast. And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations. When the Doctor’s not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble.”

Pete McTighe has made a similar case that the show’s tone and tension come from removing the franchise’s safety net. As per the Royal Television Society’s report dated December 19, 2025, writer McTighe said the spin-off is,

“slightly different tonally. You’re writing for the same audience but with a different tone – darker, more grounded, more real. That was huge fun”

He added,

“I like my Doctor Who set in the real world, so this was exciting. Writing a Doctor Who spin-off without the Doctor raises the stakes – he can’t swoop in and save the day.”

From the cast side, the line has been more about the scale of what they made than any promise of a return. As per RadioTimes.com’s report dated November 28, 2025, Russell Tovey, who plays Barclay Pierre-Dupont, said,

“When people watch it, they’re going to be really taken aback that this is a show that’s on the BBC....Because of the gubbins that we’ve been able to play with.”

If The War Between the Land and the Sea Season 2 happens, what it could look like and when news might drop

Any Season 2 talk for The War Between the Land and the Sea is still hypothetical, so the safest approach is to map the plausible routes rather than predict an announcement. One path is a new Homo Aqua story that follows the consequences after the Season 1 crisis.

Another is a broader UNIT-focused format, where different threats take center stage when the Doctor is off-world. Major outlets also lay out both possibilities while stressing that nothing is confirmed.

Timing is also a constraint. The BBC has already said the next on-screen Doctor Who chapter is a Christmas special in 2026, and that “plans for the next series” will be announced later. That likely puts any spin-off decisions behind the main show’s next commissioning and production steps, especially now that the distribution model is shifting post-Disney partnership for the core series.

Stay tuned for more updates.