What Time Does the 'Doctor Who' Christmas Special Start?

Doctor Who returns tonight for its annual Christmas Special and this year's episode, "Twice Upon a Time," marks a turning point for the series as both star Peter Capaldi and showrunner Steven Moffat make their exits.

Doctor Who fans aren't going to want to miss Capaldi's regeneration. So when exactly does the Christmas Special air?

If you're in the United States you can catch the Doctor Who Christmas Special at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on BBC America. If you're in the United Kingdom, the episode will air at 5:30 p.m. on BBC1 and will be available to stream on the BBC website shortly after the episode concludes.

ComicBook.com spoke to Steven Moffat and the outgoing showrunner told us a bit about what "Twice Upon the Time" means for the Doctor and how it relates to the Season 10 finale, "The Doctor Falls."

"Well, the grand finale to my time on Doctor Who was 'The Doctor Falls,' and that was the Doctor stating his case and choosing a hill to die on," Moffat said. "That was our grand finale. But we had the awkward business that Chris [Chibnall] didn't want to start with the Christmas episode, quite rightly. So, there was the momentary possibility there wouldn't be any Christmas episode, so I suggested that I do the Christmas episode and talked Peter [Capaldi] into doing one more so that Doctor Who wouldn't lose the slot.

"Having done that, of course, we had the problem of doing the grand finale plus an hour. And so it's a different kind of story. It's a story about the Twelfth Doctor, the Doctor himself at the end of his life, thinking, 'I don't know if I can keep doing this, I'm tired,' and finding the strength to carry on. You see, it's a Christmas story resurrection for both him and for the First Doctor who's in the same mental state. So they both have to convince each other that one more regeneration is possible. So it's that kind of story."

In "Twice Upon a Time," two Doctors stranded in a forbidding snowscape, refusing to face regeneration. A British army captain, seemingly destined to die in the First World War but taken from the trenches to play his part in the Doctor's story. In the final chapter of the Twelfth Doctor's epic adventure, he must face his past to decide his future. Along the way he realizes the resilience of humanity, discovering hope in his darkest frozen moment. It is the end of an era, but the Doctor's journey is only just beginning.

The episode was written by Steven Moffat, is directed by Rachel Talalay, star Peter Capaldi, and guest stars David Bradley as the First Doctor, Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts, and Mark Gatiss as the Captain.