For sci-fi fans like myself, 2025 has offered an incredible selection of mature, hard-hitting thrillers set within the genre. Disney+ offered a tense, bittersweet-but-satisfying conclusion to Andor alongside a terrifying new tale in Alien: Earth, Apple TV+ has pushed boundaries with Severance, Foundation, and Pluribus, and now Netflix will round out the year with the long-awaited conclusion to Stranger Things. It has never been a better time to be a lover of the genre.
One more series is making waves after its two-episode premiere in the UK, but international streaming fans will have to wait until the new year to get a glimpse at this potential hit.
Written by Russell T Davies and Pete McTighe, The War Between the Land and Sea is an ambitious approach to a well-worn and familiar genre narrative: the first contact story. After a group of fishermen stumble upon a strange lifeform, humanity is faced with the emergence of a highly intelligent, sea-dwelling humanoid species dubbed Homo Aqua. While humanity’s first instinct is to negotiate, Homo Aqua pulls no punches in holding the species accountable for their world-devastating actions, as sinister parties threaten this fragile chance at peace with their greedy intentions.
If you are as familiar with the sci-fi genre as me, you probably know that The War Between the Land and Sea is a Doctor Who spin-off. However, there are no Time Lords in sight in this miniseries, with humanity being left to grapple with its own problems without the ability to rewrite history should anything go wrong. As such, The War Between the Land and Sea is incredibly character-focused, keeping you invested through grounded and likeable characters just trying to handle these extraordinary circumstances.
And The War Between the Land and Sea‘s negotiations are nothing but tense. Unlike other first contact stories where our new acquaintances come from the stars, Homo Aqua has shared the Earth with humanity since their earliest days, witnessing and feeling the full effects of their actions. Unfortunately, this leaves humanity in an incredibly poor position in their peace talks, as these newcomers are not only incredibly familiar with us, but also vengeful towards our actions.
The War Between the Land and Sea doesn’t hold back in its messaging
The War Between the Land and Sea doesn’t shirk away from the subject matter behind its fantastical story, diving into a narrative that tackles themes of environmentalism and colonization. Alongside overfishing playing a part in the inciting incident, the representative of Homo Aqua, Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), plainly states how humanity has harmed her people and their realms through pollution. She is more than ready to tear down any attempts that humanity’s negotiation team makes to placate her with small, ineffective proposals. These moments feel incredibly relatable and timely, as certain real-world countries back away from previous environmental commitments.
However, the series isn’t just aiming to subject viewers to humanity at its worst in a cautionary tale, as The War Between the Land and Sea‘s primary human protagonist, Barclay (Russell Tovey), offers a much-needed glimmer of hope. An overwhelmed civilian drafted into this world-changing event to act as humanity’s representative, Barclay doesn’t have the geopolitical or corporate intentions most of the other negotiators have and is honest about where humanity is failing. Ultimately, it is Barclay’s kindness and honesty that is able to break through Salt and Homo Aqua’s anger, showing how our kind is capable of change.
Much like how Andor tackled themes of oppression and resistance, The War Between the Land and Sea doesn’t simply hone in on a pessimistic, dystopian tale where no happy ending can be found. Even as humanity faces the consequences of hundreds of years of neglect, both in Salt’s words and through shocking stunts performed by Homo Aqua, the show continues to reinforce how seemingly ordinary voices can change the world despite the odds through Barclay. In a time when things seem complicated and uncertain, I believe depicting hopeful outcomes is vital in keeping us invested and inspiring us to do better in our day-to-day lives.
The War Between the Land and Sea is perfect for Whoniverse newcomers
Of course, one hurdle that may prevent you from wishing to dive into The War Between the Land and Sea is its ties to the wider Doctor Who franchise. With over 60 years’ worth of stories, I understand how it could be overwhelming to explore, especially as more recent seasons of the main show have relied heavily on older lore that can be inaccessible for newcomers. However, the show solves this issue by honing in on a small, relatively unexplored corner of the universe.
Despite their iconic status among fans, Homo Aqua, previously known as the Sea Devils, have only made three television series appearances prior to The War Between the Land and Sea. In each story, the species played villainous roles after humanity awoke them from their slumber, leading to conflict between the two civilizations that usually ended with Homo Aqua being banished or killed. As such, they are a relatively undefined aspect of the franchise, allowing Davies and McTighe the freedom to make them the main focus of the main series without having to worry about decades of lore.
Furthermore, even with major Doctor Who supporting characters, such as Jemma Redgrave’s UNIT leader Kate Stewart, playing major roles in The War Between the Land and Sea, the first two episodes clearly define who they are while also maintaining a focus on Barclay and Salt’s story, ensuring that a new viewer will not be lost. Even mentions of the Doctor have been relegated to a single exchange by Barclay about how he met the character, which still focused on reinforcing Tovey’s character as opposed to acting as fanservice. I feel that, as a longtime Doctor Who fan, The War Between the Land and Sea strikes a balance between being accessible to newcomers while also pleasing established Whovians.
When will The War Between the Land and Sea come to streaming?
Despite a push from both the BBC and Disney+ between 2022 and early 2025 to promote Doctor Who and ensure that the series had a simultaneous launch between the British broadcaster’s own channels and the major streaming service, The War Between the Land and Sea is a victim of a major change in their strategies. While the first two episodes of the new miniseries have been broadcast on BBC One and are available on the BBC iPlayer services in the UK currently, the miniseries won’t be released internationally on Disney+ until 2026. As the two companies’ production agreement comes to an end, perhaps the streamer doesn’t see the miniseries as a guaranteed hit, making it a lower priority in their slate.
However, The War Between the Land and Sea is attracting positive attention despite these limits, drawing high viewership numbers upon the premiere’s UK broadcast and attracting mostly positive praise from fans like myself and general viewers. Even with a delayed rollout, it could be another solid sci-fi hit to round out 2025 in the UK, creating positive word of mouth for its international Disney+ release in 2026.
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