Where was The War Between the Land and the Sea filmed?

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After over a year of anticipation, the new Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, is finally premiering.

Since the next full series of Doctor Who isn’t arriving until Christmas 2026, this new five-part adventure should keep fans happy. It features UNIT battling the Homo Aqua, also known as the Sea Devils.

The series features a talented cast including Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jemma Redgrave, and Colin McFarlane. Trailers have showcased its beautiful scenery and special effects, leaving many wondering where filming took place.

As a total film buff, I’ve been digging into where they actually shot ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea,’ and I’ve got all the details for you right here. Let me walk you through all the filming locations!

Where was The War Between the Land and the Sea filmed?

Like with most of the new Doctor Who episodes since 2005, a lot of ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ was actually filmed in Cardiff. It’s become a really familiar location for the show, and I always recognize it when I’m watching!

As a location scout, I was really impressed with where they filmed this series! They used some fantastic spots around Cardiff, including the iconic City Hall, the beautiful National Museum Cardiff, a cozy pint at The City Arms pub, and even the Welsh Government offices at Cathays Park. It really brought the story to life seeing these recognizable landmarks.

The production also shot scenes in Bristol, specifically on Canynge Road in Clifton and at the Lloyds Amphitheatre by the harbor.

Some of the movie was filmed on location in Mallorca, Spain. You can see a scene shot there in the picture above.

Like many shows, including Doctor Who, a lot of filming – even scenes set in important locations like the Empress Hall – happened on sound stages and in studios.

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Before the series launched, Russell T Davies, who co-wrote and is the showrunner for Doctor Who, shared his enthusiasm, describing the visuals as ‘absolutely gorgeous’.

The main set, Empress Hall, is brimming with extras – it’s wonderful! Visually, this project has been different from Doctor Who, where we often build spaceships and futuristic elements. Here, most of our sets are grounded in reality, which has allowed us to focus on creating believable, real-world environments.

We also have some truly spectacular, imaginative scenes, especially when the story takes us underwater to the world of the Sea Devils – which we’ve nicknamed the ‘Homo Aqua habitat’. It’s a stunning visual, and our design team deserves a lot of credit for bringing it to life.

Pete McTighe, who co-wrote the series, was amazed by the sets, particularly the Empress Hall. He said it looked so realistic, it was hard to believe it wasn’t a real place, and the locations in Episode 3 were equally impressive. He credited production designers Erica McEwan and Julian Luxton with creating such a wonderful world.

The post-production special effects really take the show to the next level – Seb Barker and his team did an amazing job. Plus, our costume designer, Rachel Walsh, made everyone look fantastic, which was a huge accomplishment considering how many people were in the scenes at the Empress Hall.

You can watch “The War Between the Land and the Sea” on BBC One and BBC iPlayer starting Sunday, December 7th at 8:30pm.

Seriously, if you’re looking for something new to watch, you HAVE to add “The War Between the Land and the Sea” to your watchlist on the TopMob app! I just downloaded it, and it gives you daily recommendations and all sorts of cool features. It’s a great way to stay up-to-date on what to watch next.

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2025-12-07 11:38