The no-nonsense daughter of Doctor Who's beloved Brigadier has been a welcome addition to the Who-niverse in the past few years. Now, she's getting her own spinoff series as part of Big Finish's collection of Doctor Who audio dramas. But the news could have far reaching implications beyond just Kate...
First, here's the good news — Kate and her UNIT team (depending on if this is set before Season 8, could that include fan favorite Osgood?) will be the stars of UNIT: Extinction, a new audio series from Big Finish that will begin in November with a new box set of stories in the series being released every six months after that. Jemma Redgrave will reprise her on-screen role as Kate, and in the first story UNIT will go up against an Auton Invasion, a repeated thorn in the organization's side during the Third Doctor's time on Earth. Check out the cover art below:
But as great as it is to be getting more Kate Stewart stories, the announcement potentially has far bigger implications for Big Finish's Doctor Who output going forward.
Up until now, the revived-era of Doctor Who has been strictly off-limits to Big Finish for their stories. They've made insinuations towards elements of it, especially with the Time War, and in turn the show has nodded towards the audio plays itself — such as when The Night of the Doctor effectively canonised the Eighth Doctor's audio companions back in 2013. Kate actually marks the first time that Big Finish will be allowed to explicitly use a character and plot elements from the 2005-and-onwards era of the show, and obviously, that opens up even more possibilities for other characters to make the transition from TV to audio plays. Even former Doctors Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith (Tennant is no stranger to Big Finish, having appeared in multiple plays for them before he was cast as The Doctor)!
Only time will tell if Big Finish and the BBC's new deal could extend beyond the adventures of Kate Stewart, but here's to hoping. Who wouldn't want more stories from NuWho's past Doctors?
[Via Doctor Who News]