The 'Doctor Who' Christmas Special May Break With Tradition In This Pretty Major Way

The current series of Doctor Who has enjoyed both critical acclaim and impressive viewership. The success of the new series has no doubt delighted long standing fans of the iconic science-fiction series, and the news that there would indeed be a Christmastime special was also received with a lot of excitement. But is the Doctor Who Christmas special on Netflix?

As previously reported by Bustle, this year there will be no Christmas Day Doctor Who special, but instead the show will air a New Year's Day special. There has been no confirmation that the episode will be made available on Netflix. I have reached out to the BBC for comment, and will update with any information when it becomes available. However, if you'd like to sit back, relax and enjoy any of the previous Doctor Who Christmas specials, you can absolutely do so — because they're all currently available to stream on Netflix. Elsewhere, British whovians can livestream episodes of the new series on BBC One using the broadcaster's on demand service BBC iPlayer. Alternatively, fans looking to catch up with any missed episodes, can also do so on the streaming service, reports the Express.

The plot of the upcoming New Year's Day special may not actually take place on that particular day, reports the Radio Times, and some of the show's stars have revealed that they had no clue of the details surrounding when the special episode would actually air. Mandip Gill, who plays the character of Yasmin Khan in the new series, told the Radio Times "When we were filming, we didn’t know when it was going to air. We’ve only just found out with you guys."

Mandip's comments suggest that the theme of the episode won't necessarily be linked to Christmastime or New Year, which does break tradition with the Doctor Who festive specials that viewers are used to. Giving more insight into what we can expect from the episode is the official BBC synopsis. It reads: "As the New Year begins, a terrifying evil is stirring, from across the centuries of Earth’s history. As the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz return home, will they be able to overcome the threat to planet Earth?"

The 11th run of the iconic BBC series has been noted for boasting one of the most ethnically diverse casts in the show's history, as well as including the first ever female Time Lord. Although the inclusion of actors and actresses from a variety of backgrounds should indeed be something to celebrate, there has been some backlash claiming that the show has become too "politically correct". According to The Week, when asked about the bogus claims, Mandip Gill replied "It makes me laugh, because having the words ‘too’ and ‘correct’ in the same sentence is really bizarre to me. How can you be too correct about something?"

The 30 year-old actress also revealed that her presence on the show can provoke "extreme opinions" from viewer comments online. She said: "You do see some extreme comments under news articles. I’m only human and I do check and read them. But they don’t bother me and actually they’re creating conversation." In spite of any claims that the current series is "too politically correct", I for one enjoy the concept of addressing important social issues, and profound historical moments within light entertainment. Bring on the New Year's Day special.