Overview

• Written by Inua Ellams, the first Black writer for Doctor Who, the episode is set in Lagos, Nigeria, and draws from his acclaimed play 'Barber Shop Chronicles.'
• The story revolves around a barber shop turned cosmic engine, powered by storytelling and featuring mythological and cultural elements rooted in Nigerian traditions.
• Jo Martin reprises her role as the Fugitive Doctor in a cameo, tying the episode to the Timeless Child arc and the show’s broader mythology.
• A montage of past Doctors celebrates the show’s 60-year history, as the Fifteenth Doctor connects the story engine to his own regeneration-spanning narrative.
• The episode has received critical acclaim for its innovative storytelling, cultural specificity, and exploration of the Doctor’s Blackness as a source of belonging.