Once Russell T Davies was announced as taking over Doctor Who again, wheels turned about what else might be in the pipeline. During RTD’s first regime (2005-2010), fans saw two successful Doctor Who spinoffs: the adult-oriented Torchwood and the kid-focused The Sarah Jane Adventures. And with a new Doctor, and a new distribution deal with Disney+, we wondered what other shows we’d see in the Whoniverse. Now, according to a report from Deadline, we have an idea. The latest Doctor Who spinoff will be a show focused on UNIT and star Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart.
Kate first debuted on screen in 2012’s “The Power of Three,” the daughter of fan-fave classic ally Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. She has acted as head of Doctor Who‘s UNIT, the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, in all of her appearances. Kate also appeared in “The Power of the Doctor,” Jodie Whittaker’s final story.
Most recently, Kate Stewart and UNIT were seen in “The Giggle,” the last of three 60th-anniversary specials starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate as the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble, respectively. Stewart had recruited former companion Mel Bush to the UNIT team and, towards the end of the episode, offered Donna a position there, too.
A UNIT/Kate spinoff is perhaps the biggest no-brainer for a new Doctor Who show. It has the potential to do what Torchwood tried to do; that show couldn’t decide how adult it wanted to be. “The Power of the Doctor” introduced the idea that Kate had been recruiting past companions and she has two great ones under her belt. Plus, in the trailer for Doctor Who‘s upcoming season with Ncuti Gatwa, we see that Fifteen will return to UNIT. This season could be a bit of a backdoor pilot for the UNIT spinoff series.
It is highly likely that we will see Donna, Mel, Rose Noble, and others in the mix. Maybe, just maybe, Martha is done freelancing and will come to UNIT for an adventure, too. What a great way to have legacy characters pop in and out for various missions! Plus, we just love Redgrave! Yes, give her a show.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
Originally published on March 15, 2023.
