Fans of Doctor Who have been patiently awaiting new episodes of the long-running sci-fi series since last year’s traditional Christmas Special episode, “The Husbands of River Song” aired in December 2015. Now, BBC Worldwide North America and Fathom Events is giving the long-suffering faithful a special gift in the form of a theatrical premiere for 2016’s Doctor Who Christmas Special.
The episode, titled “The Return of Doctor Mysterio,” will debut in approximately 420 cinemas around the U.S. for two nights only, Tuesday, December 27 and Thursday, December 29, at 7pm local time, though there’s no word if those screenings will be replicated in the U.K.
The event will include the full 60-minute special — which airs on BBC American on Christmas Day — plus two exclusive bonus features, “A New Kind of Superhero,” giving a special inside look at Doctor Who‘s concept of a modern superhero, and a special Christmas Doctor Who Extra about the making of this year’s special, with appearances by stars Peter Capaldi and Matt Lucas, as well as showrunner and executive producer Steven Moffat.
Whovians can find tickets for the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special available online beginning Friday, November 18, 2016 from Fathom Events or at their participating theater box offices.
In “The Return of Doctor Mysterio,” the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) teams up with an investigative journalist, played by Charity Wakefield (Wolf Hall, The Player), and a superhero to save New York from a deadly alien threat. Written by Steven Moffat, the special stars Justin Chatwin (Orphan Black, Shameless) as Grant, along with Matt Lucas (Alice in Wonderland, Bridesmaids), Adetomiwa Edun (Lucifer, Bates Motel), Aleksandar Jovanovic and Logan Hoffman. The episode was directed by Ed Bazalgette (Poldark).
The Christmas episode will be the only new Doctor Who episode available to fans until Series 9 of the show begins in earnest in April 2017. That’s when, presumably, fans will get their first look at the Doctor’s newest time-traveling companion, Bill, played by Pearl Mackie.
