Somehow the Doctor always seems to be so far off and yet closer than you think. At least that’s how it’s felt for the past several years. Doctor Who has had fewer episodes and less frequent seasons since about 2017. And, like, not for nothing but I also haven’t loved any of those seasons. But even still, new Doctor Who is always cause for celebration! Today, the BBC has announced that season two (or you know, whatever you want to call it) of the series with Ncuti Gatwa in the lead role will return Saturday April 12 at midnight Pacific on Disney+. They also revealed new images, plus The Traitors host Alan Cumming playing a cartoon character!
This is weird. Alan Cumming—who had previously played King James I in the Jodie Whittaker episode “The Witchfinders”—is back on the show as a totally new character. His name? Well, what else would you call that rubber-hose-ass character but Mr. Ring-a-Ding? He’ll appear in the as-yet unnamed second episode of the season. The description is as follows: “Mr. Ring-a-Ding is a happy, funny, singalong cartoon, who lives in Sunny Town with his friend Sunshine Sally. However, in 1952, after years of repeats in cinemas across the land, Mr. Ring-a-Ding suddenly looks beyond the screen and sees the real world outside — and the consequences are terrifying.”
So who on Earth (or elsewhere) knows what that will be like? Showrunner, executive producer, and writer Russell T Davies said, “Only Alan Cumming could give a runaway cartoon so much wit, malice, danger and fun. He makes the whole universe of Doctor Who wilder and madder than ever, and it’s an absolute honour to welcome him on board the TARDIS.”
Additionally, the PR provided new promo images of Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu, who is joining the show this year as companion Belinda Chandra.
The announcement also says that the season will again consist of eight episodes and air weekly. In addition to Gatwa and Sethu, the season will welcome back Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, Ruth Madeley as UNIT’s Shirley Ann Bingham, Anita Dobson as Mrs. Flood, and Susan Twist as (I guess) Susan Triad.
We’re very intrigued and hopefully we get a trailer soon plus a full list of episode titles and writers for us to ogle. But, as they say, time flies, so it’ll probably be here before we know it.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.