Summary
Doctor Who’s next episode will air on June 20, 2025, and recent comments from the festive special’s writer suggest it will be an incredibly important installment. After penningDoctor Whoseason 14, episode 3, “Boom,“Steven Moffat will return to the franchise once again to write “Joy to the World.“The episode will be the former showrunner’s ninth Christmas special, as well as his 50thDoctor Whoscript overall. With “Boom” immediately becoming one of thebestDoctor Whoepisodes written by Moffat, he has a tough challenge ahead to ensure “Joy to the World” makes a similar impact.
Moffat’s association withDoctor Whopredates his time as showrunner, as he wrote for the show before taking over. His era had Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor in the TARDIS followed by Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth, and his high-concept storytelling is one of the biggest hallmarks of his time in charge. Credited with writing and overseeing some of thegreatestDoctor Whostories of all time, the upcoming December episode is in good hands and primed to be a pivotal moment in the Disney era.
Doctor Who: Every Doctor & Who Played Them (In Chronological Order)
Doctor Who has been played by a crop of fantastic actors going back several decades, and each version has been both unique and memorable.
Moffat’s Tease Suggests Doctor Who’s Upcoming 2024 Special Will Be Important For Season 15
“Joy to the World” could be about to set up the Doctor Who season 15’s finale
In an interview withTV Choice, Moffat confirmed that he had read the scripts for the first five episodes ofDoctor Whoseason 14 before the run aired. However, he also stated that he had read the script forDoctor Whoseason 15’s finale, and teased that there will be a direct connection to 2024’s “Joy to the World.” Therefore,the upcoming Christmas special could be a setup for the conclusion of Gatwa’s second seasonas the Doctor.
“Bizarrely enough, I have read the finale of [season 15] - for reasons that will become apparent.”
Moffat also says in the same interview that “Joy to the World” had already completed shooting before 2023’s “The Church on Ruby Road” had even aired.This intense new production schedule is new forDoctor Who, and also means fans won’t be left waiting for the saga to continue, which has happened in recent years. In 2016 and 2019, only one episode was aired per year. Luckily, Moffat’s comments seem to point towards these fallow periods being actively avoided.
Varada Sethu’s Doctor Who Character Could Be The Connection Moffat Is Talking About
Mundy Flynn has already been confirmed to be separate from Sethu’s new character
“Joy to the World” may not be the only connection toDoctor Who’s season 15 finale. Instead, Moffat may be referring to “Boom,” or more specifically, Varada Sethu’s character and the actor’s casting as the next companion to Gatwa’s Doctor. (ViaGames Radar), current showrunner Russell T Davies has already stated that Sethu’s upcoming role is different from her “Boom” character - Mundy Flynn.Sethu’s companion hasn’t yet been named, but even if it isn’t Mundy Flynn,Doctor Who’s rapid new attitude to the show’s production makes it difficult to believe that there’s no connection between both Varada Sethu characters.
“I think we might as well just be simple with this, because we’ve already said [Varada Sethu is] not coming back as Mundy Flynn.” - Russell T Davies in SFX Magazine.
It’s also possible that “Boom,” “Joy to the World,” and theDoctor Whoseason 15 finale will be expertly interlinked, as would be expected when someone like Steven Moffat is involved. Of course,it would ultimately be up to Russell T Davies if this were to take place. Thankfully, the two men have worked together in the past and know how to play to each other’s strengths. So, an encrypted Moffat trilogy embedded across the first two seasons ofDoctor Who’s Disney eraisn’t completely out of the question.
A Returning Moffat-Era Character Could Appear In Doctor Who Season 15’s Finale
Davies may have run the script by Moffat due to a certain character’s comeback
Doctor Whoseason 15’s finale may not be a follow-up to any of the previous two Moffat episodes in the Disney era. There could be a completely unrelated explanation for why the former showrunner has read the script so far in advance. One possibility could be thata character from Moffat’s era is returningin the final episode of the upcoming season. If so, even if Moffat hasn’t written the script, Davies may have seen fit to have his colleague look it over and make sure the dialogue and characterization are correct for whoever might be about to come back.
Doctor Who Season 15: Release Date, Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know
With a brand new Doctor at the helm, the TARDIS is off on more exciting adventures and there is already a ton of news about Doctor Who season 15.
Moffat introduced several key characters during his run, as well as in scripts from before he took over from Davies as theDoctor Whoshowrunner. For example, he brought Alex Kingston’s River Song into the show’s canon in 2008 and made her an even more important character during the eras of Matt Smith’s and Peter Capaldi’s Doctors. The writer also created other beloved companions like Karen Gillan’s Amy Pond and Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald - both of whom could be written back into the show with creative sci-fi writing. So, Moffat’sDoctor Whoseason 15 tease opens up many exciting possibilities.
Doctor Who
Cast
Doctor Who: Released on June 02, 2025, this series follows the Doctor and their companion as they journey across time and space, encountering a range of extraordinary friends and adversaries, expanding the universe of the long-running British science fiction series.
