Doctor Who Confirms The Show's New River Song, But Only If Season 16 Happens

Published May 25, 2025

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 15, episode 7, "Wish World."Ncuti Gatwa's first full season as the star of Doctor Who season 15's cast.

While Doctor Who has teased several love interests for the Doctor, River turning out to be the Doctor's wife gave the show's main character a prominent romantic arc. After debuting during River's Doctor Who timeline also brought her into with both Matt Smith's Eleventh and Peter Capaldi's Twelfth. Her exit from the show in 2015's "The Husbands of River Song" was functionally the end of her marriage to the Doctor, which opens the door for her to be replaced. It's taken almost a decade, but Doctor Who is doing just that.

Doctor Who Confirms Rogue Is The Fifteenth Doctor's River Song Replacement

Rogue's "Wish World" cameo shows Groff's character making a heartfelt ission

Rogue is the Doctor's third solid love interest in Doctor Who's modern era. Beginning with Billie Piper's Rose Tyler, the Time Lord then moved on to marry River at some point in their timey-wimey romantic entanglement. Now, Rogue has stepped into a similar role as the object of Fifteen's desires, and their story is also complicated. Their encounter in Doctor Who season 14 set up Groff's character as a long-standing paramour, but he sacrificed himself to save Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and was lost in another dimension.

ittedly, the pair did fall for each other very hard in an incredibly short space of time, while River's relationship with the Doctor was a slow-burning and well-earned affair.

Rogue's return in Doctor Who season 15, episode 7, "Wish World," comes in the form of a video message on the Doctor's TV, but Groff's actual character doesn't appear in the installment. Regardless, "Wish World" allows Rogue to reaffirm his feelings for the Doctor. ittedly, the pair did fall for each other very hard in an incredibly short space of time, while River's relationship with the Doctor was a slow-burning and well-earned affair. Either way, the end result is the same, and the Doctor now has an established love interest to replace his late wife.

"I gotta go. I miss you. Well, more than that. I love you."

- Rogue to the Doctor in "Wish World."

In a way, Rogue is also a replacement for John Barrowman's Captain Jack Harkness. They're both suave loners who travel to explore, among other motivations. Just as Jack was one of Doctor Who's earliest and most prominent LGBTQ+ characters, Rogue also fits into a similar category, and his American accent also helps to further the comparison. The difference between Jack and River is that Jack could easily return at any time from a canonical perspective, but behind-the-scenes issues have thus far prevented Barrowman's return since his appearances alongside Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor.

Doctor Who Season 15 Is Clearly Setting Up Rogue's Return

Groff's comeback is an obvious attempt to bring him back again

The ending of "Rogue" made it pretty obvious that Groff's time on the show wasn't over for good. His final words to the Doctor, "Find me," set up a longer, side quest-esque arc that would take much longer to unfold. The beginnings of his comeback have come sooner than I expected, but the fact that it has happened at all is far from a surprise. It remains to be seen if Rogue will return in the flesh before the end of Doctor Who season 15, but it's impossible to deny Russell T. Davies' intention to fully bring Groff's character back.

Anita Dobson looking worried as the Rani in Doctor Who

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Doctor Who season 15, episode 8, "The Reality War," is already shaping up to be a brilliantly chaotic finale. Carole Ann Ford's comeback as Susan for the first time since Doctor Who's classic era is surely another loose end that will need to be addressed in "The Reality War." Between all that and more, it's unlikely Rogue will be back a second time this season.

Although "The Reality War" has a lot on its plate without another appearance from Rogue to for, it would be foolish to believe his brief return in "Wish World" happened just for the sake of it.

Although "The Reality War" has a lot on its plate without another appearance from Rogue to for, it would be foolish to believe his brief return in "Wish World" happened just for the sake of it. There were plenty of ways the Doctor could have realized that mugs slipping through tables isn't normal, but Davies chose to have Rogue deliver the revelation to remind everyone that Groff's character is still around and to set up a more substantial comeback in the near future.

Rogue's Story Will Be Wasted If Doctor Who Season 16 Doesn't Happen

Doctor Who's future after season 15 remains uncertain

Rogue (Jonathan Groff) kneels to propose to The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) in the middle of the ball in Doctor Who season 14 episode 6

Rogue's return proper probably won't happen until Doctor Who season 16. Worryingly, season 16 hasn't yet been announced, despite season 15 being so close to wrapping up. Disney's deal with the BBC isn't yet complete, but rumors have started to swirl about the studios ending their collaboration early, which could lead to the show being canceled. If this happens, the arc that has been put in place for the Doctor and Rogue will all be for nothing, and the pair won't get to reunite for the first time since Doctor Who season 14.

The massive changes that happened to Doctor Who between seasons 13 and 14 resulted in a portion of the long-standing fan base quitting the show.

The massive changes that happened to Doctor Who between seasons 13 and 14 resulted in a portion of the long-standing fan base quitting the show. This is perhaps surprising given that Doctor Who's entire premise is built on change, plus the fact that Russell T. Davies' return brought with it a more level narrative structure than had come to be the norm during Chris Chibnall's time in the showrunner's chair.

Although I can understand some of the grievances fans had during Gatwa's inaugural run, I don't think it was a bad season. Furthermore, Doctor Who season 15 has been fantastic so far, and the reception to episodes like "The Well" and "Lucky Day" has been resoundingly positive. So, I'm confident season 16 will happen eventually, even if it means the BBC carrying on without Disney's input. If and when that happens, Jonathon Groff can finally reprise his role as Rogue in a much more satisfying way than he did in Doctor Who season 15's penultimate episode.

Doctor Who Season 15's Release Schedule On Disney+
Episode	Title	Release Date (2025)
1	"The Robot Revolution"	April 12
2	"Lux"	April 19
3	"The Well"	April 26
4	"Lucky Day"	May 3
5	"The Story and the Engine"	May 10
6	"The Interstellar Song Contest"	May 17
7	"Wish World"	May 24
8	"The Reality War"	May 31