New Who Arrives on BBC America 4/17/10

BBC America has announced that the 5th season of Doctor who will debut on April 17th, only two weeks after it begins its run in the UK.

Season 5 has Matt Smith as the 11th incarnation of the Doctor, taking over the role from fan favorite David Tennant, and is joined by his new companion Amy Pond (played Karen Gillan).

The first three episodes have been confirmed as “The Eleventh Hour”, “The Beast Below” (both written by Moffat) and “Victory of the Daleks” by Mark Gatiss.

Steven Moffat has taken over as lead writer for the series as well as executive producer from Russel T. Davis. Other writers pitching in for this latest season  include Richard Curtis (The Boat that Rocked, Love Actually and Blackadder), Chris Chibnall (Torchwood), Toby Whithouse (Being Human & Torchwood), Mark Gatiss and Simon Nye.

Senior Vice President Programming for BBC AMERICA, Richard De Croce,  stated:

“Britain has a tradition of reinventing its iconic characters, like James Bond and Sherlock Holmes – and Doctor Who. In introducing the Eleventh Doctor, writer Steven Moffat is opening the show to a whole new audience, while serving fans with an exciting mix of inter galactic, time travelling adventures. We can’t wait to meet his new Doctor!”