Even as the show’s television future hangs in the balance and the series was recently canceled on Disney+ due to poor ratings, the BBC is launching a sprawling new multi-platform Doctor Who story event with Circuit Breaker.
Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker launches today, June 25, and runs through September across comics, audio, books, gaming, and digital, all centered on Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor.
The event was revealed last year and has been in the works long before the BBC’s recent announcement that it’s canceling the Christmas special and putting the show out to tender, so the timing seems coincidental.
What is Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker?
The details include that Circuit Breaker is a single, escalating story told in chapters across multiple formats, with each installment from a different Doctor Who partner.
It’s the third event of its kind, following Time Lord Victorious and Doom’s Day.
The story kicks off on the in-universe UNIT website with “Calling the Doctor,” written by activist Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, before rolling out across Titan Comics, Doctor Who Magazine, BBC Audiobooks, East Side Games, Puffin, BBC Books, and Big Finish through late September.
The story: Osgood, UNIT, and the Fugitive Doctor
The plot centers on UNIT’s most secure facility, the Black Archive, where familiar objects have been pulled through time and space, carrying a dangerous energy signature that threatens to tear reality apart.
Newly appointed Head of the Black Archive Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) and her assistant Andrew (Omari Douglas) turn to the one person who can help: the Doctor, in this case Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor.
Across the event, the Fugitive Doctor faces classic enemies including the Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, and a rogue Weeping Angel, while an insidious presence lurks in the background.
Per the synopsis, trust between UNIT and the Doctor begins to erode as those who idolize her start to question whether she’s really the Time Lord they thought they knew.
Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor first appeared in 2020 as a previously unknown incarnation of the Time Lord, and has become one of the more intriguing additions to Doctor Who lore.
What The BBC And Doctor Who Team Are Saying
Martin said the event showcases “a more vulnerable side” of her Doctor and teased a brand-new costume for the character.
“Circuit Breaker now has an official start date! I’m delighted for fans to join the Fugitive Doctor on a brand-new adventure!” she said. “One that may even showcase a more vulnerable side (yes, she does have one!). But for now, I invite you to take a first look at my Doctor’s brand new costume.”
Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson writer, said: “Circuit Breaker is truly unique in the Doctor Who universe. Just as the Fugitive Doctor rocked everyone’s world when they first appeared on our screens, we wanted to bring something exciting and new to the fans, a story that takes the best parts of Doctor Who and melds them with a fresh and innovative boldness that makes for fantastic storytelling.”
Jo Martin added: “Circuit Breaker now has an official start date! I’m delighted for fans to join the Fugitive Doctor on a brand-new adventure! One that may even showcase a more vulnerable side (yes, she does have one!). But for now, I invite you to take a first look at my Doctor’s brand new costume.”
Stephen Davies, SVP Global Licensing, BBC Studios said: “Circuit Breaker offers a bold new way to experience Doctor Who and the Whoniverse across multiple platforms. Working with our trusted, long-standing partners and creative talent, we’ve created something truly ambitious in both scale and storytelling. We’re excited to bring this coordinated global event to audiences around the world and deepen fan engagement.”
Jason Quinn, Editor Doctor Who Magazine: “Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic characters in the Whoniverse. Seeing her character develop and change and thaw over the course of this arc is fascinating.”
Michael Stevens, Senior Content Producer, BBC Audiobooks: “We’re over the moon to be a part of Circuit Breaker, and to have Jo Martin reading our thrilling tale of how the Fugitive Doctor battled the Cybermen in space and unwittingly created a dangerous problem for her future self!”
Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker full release schedule
Here’s the complete chapter-by-chapter rollout for Circuit Breaker:
- June 25: Calling the Doctor — UNIT website (Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson)
- July 8: Adversary of the Daleks — Titan Comics
- July 23: The Honourable Society — Doctor Who Magazine #632
- July 30: The Deadliest Weapon — BBC Audiobooks, narrated by Jo Martin with David Banks as the Cyber-Leader
- August 4: Dawn of the Daleks — Titan Comics
- August 6: Castling — East Side Games
- August 17: Don’t Blink! — UNIT website
- August 20: The Doctor and the Three Witches — Puffin book
- August 27: Momento Mori — East Side Games
- August 31: The Black Archive Files — Circuit Breaker DVD release
- September 3: The Kaleidoscope — BBC Books, written by Jo Martin
- September 22: Full Circuit — Big Finish audio
- September 24: Short Circuits — Two Big Finish audio shorts
Doctor Who’s summer of everything-but-TV
With no new series in production, the only Doctor Who fans are getting right now is ancillary: a CBeebies animated series, the back catalog newly streaming on AMC+ in the U.S., and now a summer transmedia event built around a past incarnation of the Doctor rather than the show’s future.
The television series is potentially off air until 2028 as the BBC searches for a producer through its tender process, even as former showrunners Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat insist the show isn’t cancelled.
In the meantime, the Whoniverse keeps expanding everywhere except the place it started.
Fans can follow Circuit Breaker via the official Doctor Who website and channels. For the bigger picture on where the franchise goes from here, here’s what’s next for Doctor Who.
