Doctor Who and Torchwood Set for U.S. Return: Plus: Get a Video Sneak Peek!
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead
The Doctor will see you now — or, more specifically, in a few weeks.
BBC America has acquired the Stateside rights to five Doctor Who specials that mark the end of both Russell T. Davies' stint as show-runner and David Tennant's run as the titular time-traveler. Producer Steven Moffat and actor Matt Smith will succeed Davies and Tennant starting with Season 5.
"The Next Doctor," aka the series' Christmas special, will air on BBCA June 27, says Variety, while the next outing, "Planet of the Dead," will debut sometime in July. Dates for "The Waters of Mars" and the two other specials have not been set, though all are expected to air by early 2010.
The BBC series' appearance on BBC America represents a rather ironic anomaly, since Sci Fi Channel claimed dibs on the first four seasons, leaving BBCA to unspool them a year after the fact.
But not only has BBC America secured a choice appointment with the Doctor, it also will premiere Torchwood: Children of Earth, a five-part event, in July (watch a video preview below).
The Who-Torchwood one-two punch will help BBCA tee up the debuts of two new shows: Being Human (starting July 25, and concerning a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost), and Survivors (about the last members of the human race after a virus snuffs 99 percent of the population; premiere TBA).
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