‘Doctor Who’ 2016 Christmas Special: BBC America reveals some further details

We already knew that the 2016 Christmas Special for “Doctor Who” was going to air at 5:45 p.m. on BBC One in Great Britain, and now, we’re getting a few more details to go along with that pertaining to when the series is airing here in America.

Earlier this week, BBC America released the art above, and to go along with that confirmed that the episode, entitled “The Return of Doctor Mysterio,” would air on Christmas Day at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. Sure, that does mean that American viewers are going to have to wait a good several hours beyond when viewers in Britain get a chance to see the special, but from a programming standpoint this makes some sense. In Britain, it’s more of a holiday tradition for families to watch various specials; that’s a little less of a tradition on Christmas Day, given that this is one of the few times a year when everyone starts to disconnect a little bit from technology.

As for what you can expect in this special (if you haven’t seen the sneak peek for it here), the story is taking place in Manhattan, a rarity for this series, and The Doctor is going to encounter a superhero played by “Shameless” alum Justin Chatwin. Matt Lucas is also returning in the role of Nardole; meanwhile, the poster above also gives you a look at “Wolf Hall” actress Charity Wakefield, who is playing the part of an investigative journalist.

The BBC is notoriously coy when it comes to saying too much about these specials in advance, so we’re not sure we will have a whole lot more to share about this story in advance beyond this. With that said, hopefully “Doctor Mysterio” proves to be a nice transition between last year’s River Song-led special and season 10 (premiering next year), which will feature the arrival of Pearl Mackie as the new companion.

For more news related to “Doctor Who” right now, be sure to head over to the link here. (Photo: BBC.)