Torchwood is finally coming back! (But probably not the way you hoped)

Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood will finally return for a fifth season. But this time it’s as a series of audio plays.

Good news: Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood will finally get a fifth season! Bad news: It’s not going to be on TV.

The popular alien-fighting adventure series will continue in a brand new set of audio dramas from Big Finish, long time producer of similar Doctor Who stories.

It’s been six years since last we saw Captain Jack Harkness and company on our screens, as part of the (generally awful) event series Miracle Day. But now – finally – their story will continue. Stars John Barrowman and Eve Myles will both return for Torchwood: Aliens Among Us, which will continue the saga of Torchwood into the future.

Torchwood audio dramas have been kind of a thing for a while. Big Finish previously commissioned several sets of them starting in 2015. The first season focused on individual members of the original Torchwood squad, while the second was a more traditional three-part, episode-style adventure. (And, yes, for those of you who still have an Ianto Jones-shaped hole in your heart, Gareth David-Lloyd is back for several of them.) But these stories all obviously occurred earlier in the series’ timeline. (Meaning: before the emotional devastation that was Children of Earth.)

In a press release, Big Finish announced that these new stories will follow Jack and Gwen’s return to Cardiff as they attempt to rebuild the Torchwood Institute. However, they discover that something terrible has happened in the Welsh capital. And that the city is a much different place than the one they left.

Producer James Goss elaborated a bit on the new season, its new characters and creator Russell T. Davies’ involvement.

"“Russell’s been wonderfully involved in the continuation of Torchwood. We came up with some characters and ideas and he very kindly, very politely said ‘Marvellous, but no. Howabout…?’. And that’s what lead to Jack and Gwen being joined by Mr Colchester (Paul Clayton), Ng (Alexandria Riley), Tyler (Jonny Green) and the enigmatic Orr (Sam Béart). Who are they? What part do they have to play in the future of Torchwood? And can they save Cardiff from an invasion that’s already been lost?”“This is an ambitious series for Big Finish – an entire season of Torchwood! There are some great scripts by some new writers. But there are also some familiar old faces – of course Rhys and Andy are in it, but there’ll be a few other surprises, including an appearance by someone who just has to be, has to be dead…”"

 I can’t be the only one who immediately assumed that that person who “has to be dead” is Ianto, yeah? I mean, this show has done literally every other ridiculous thing possible over the course of its run. There’s literally nothing that’s too weird for Torchwood. So just resurrect him already and let me have this, okay?

Next: New Orange is the New Black Season 5 trailer

The new series of Torchwood will be released in three boxsets, each with four episodes. The first set hits shelves (and digital download) in August.