# The War Between the Land and the Sea (2025)

> When an ancient sea species surfaces and triggers a global crisis, UNIT must respond as land and sea prepare for open war.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/174216

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 5
- Episode runtime: 46 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: science fiction, drama
- Created by: Russell T Davies
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jemma Redgrave, Ruth Madeley, Rodo Gener, Henry Nott, Fia Hadeed, Delroy Brown
- TMDB rating: 6.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30645193/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: urgent, eerie, tense, wondrous

## What critics say

Audiences rated the miniseries negatively overall, with reception split along lines of its tone and identity-driven framing rather than a clear critical consensus.

## Synopsis

The War Between the Land and the Sea (2025) is a British science fiction miniseries created by Russell T Davies for BBC One. When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean and reveals itself to humanity, an international crisis erupts and the entire population stands at risk. The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, known as UNIT, steps into action to contain the threat, with Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Ruth Madeley as Shirley Bingham among the principal cast. The engine of the story is the tension between a military response and a species that answers force with its own war, and each of the five episodes, running about forty-six minutes apiece, builds the conflict across land and sea. Presented as a single self-contained miniseries, it stages large-scale spectacle with a grounded, human focus on the people caught between the two sides. Its tone is urgent and eerie, with dread and wonder mixed through the monster set pieces and the quieter moments of human connection. Fans of Doctor Who, Torchwood and Godzilla will find resonance in its British blend of creature horror, government action and sci-fi spectacle.

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