The BBC has dropped a teaser for Doctor Who Season 2, hot on the heels of the Christmas special, and it features a fresh face alongside Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor: Varada Sethu, recently seen causing Imperial headaches in Andor, as the enigmatic Belinda Chandra. The teaser shows the Doctor attempting to return Chandra to Earth, a simple enough task for a Time Lord, you’d think, if it weren’t for some pesky, unspecified cosmic interference.
While the specifics of Chandra’s role remain under wraps – is she a one-off guest star or a recurring companion? – the teaser certainly positions her as a key figure in the upcoming season’s narrative. This naturally raises questions about the dynamic between Chandra and Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday, who we know is sticking around as the Doctor’s primary companion. Will they become a time-traveling trio? Or will Chandra’s presence throw a wrench in the works of an already established TARDIS team?
Season 2 looks to be a busy one for the Doctor and his companions. The Christmas special, “Joy to the World,” concluded with the ominous opening of a doorway to a Time Hotel, revealing a dastardly plot impacting the entire planet. The BBC promises “great dangers, bigger enemies, and wider terrors than ever before,” so one imagines even the Time Hotel’s continental breakfast will be fraught with peril. Add to that the previously announced casting of Strictly Come Dancing champion Rose Ayling-Ellis, and the possibilities for timey-wimey shenanigans appear almost limitless.
While fans eagerly await Season 2’s arrival in a few months, the BBC, along with new international partner Disney, will be watching closely. The Mouse House’s continued investment in the series will be evaluated during this period, making the new season’s performance crucial. Could Doctor Who become a bigger fish in a bigger, more globally connected pond? Or will the series’ future continue to twist and turn like a particularly wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey… you get the idea.
Doctor Who Season 2 will premiere this fall on BBC One, iPlayer, and Disney+.
Doctor Who is a Bad Wolf production with BBC Studios for Disney Branded Television, BBC One, and BBC iPlayer. Executive producers are Russell T Davies, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter.
