Star Trek: Strange New Worlds keeps dropping Doctor Who references — and they almost became a full crossover
If you spotted a police box lurking in the background of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and assumed your eyes were playing tricks — they weren't. And it turns out those winks aren't just Easter eggs. They're the leftovers of a genuine plan.
The references so far
- The TARDIS cameo — the Doctor's blue box appears on screen in season 3, tucked into the Farragut episode.
- Pelia's doctor — in the season 3 finale, Carol Kane's ancient chief engineer mentions a time-travelling doctor she once knew.
- The phone box line — in season 4's "Valles Marineris", which aired 23 July 2026, Pelia remarks "I think I was in a phone box at the time."
- The reply from the other side — Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor name-checked the Enterprise during his first full season of Doctor Who.
The crossover that nearly happened
Co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman confirmed the whole thing to SYFY Wire in July 2026:
"We really did talk to Russell for a while about crossing over the two shows," he said — meaning Russell T Davies, Doctor Who's on-and-off showrunner since 2005.
And it went well beyond a fun hypothetical. The two camps discussed how the story would actually work, when it would air, how to merge the two shows' very different production aesthetics, and the possibility of a two-part episode. Speaking to Awards Radar in June 2026, Goldsman said the talks went on for years and got close — in his view, "Pelia traveled in the TARDIS. Why not?"
Why it fell apart
Corporate hurdles, in short. Star Trek belongs to Paramount, Doctor Who to the BBC (with Disney+ involved internationally during the Davies era), and Goldsman told TV Insider that if it were down to him and Davies it would have happened — as it stands, "there are love letters that go back and forth" instead.
So is Pelia a former companion, canonically?
As far as the showrunners are concerned, yes. Pelia is a Lanthanite — an effectively immortal species — and she's had thousands of years to bump into a Time Lord. Goldsman and co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers have both endorsed the reading that she genuinely travelled with a Doctor. It's the crossover, delivered as a rumour.
Could it still happen?
The window is narrowing. Strange New Worlds' fourth season premiered on Paramount+ on 23 July 2026, and its fifth and final season runs just six episodes. Doctor Who, meanwhile, is between eras — the BBC cancelled its planned Christmas special and Davies has stepped away from the show.