Originally announced in 2015 as The Diary of River Song, the audio series is one of the first from Big Finish Productions to prominently feature elements from the revived era of Doctor Who (2005–). The character of River Song was introduced in the fourth series episode "Silence in the Library" (2008) with the Tenth Doctor as a mysterious figure from his future. She later became a recurring character across the fifth, sixth and seventh series of the programme, during which her true identity is revealed as Melody Pond, daughter to the Eleventh Doctor's companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams, and the Doctor's future wife. River Song's last TV appearance would come in the 2015 Christmas special "The Husbands of River Song" alongside the Twelfth Doctor.
In the first boxset story, The Rulers of the Universe, River cross paths with the Eighth Doctor, a still younger incarnation. She would appear again alongside the Eighth Doctor in the Doom Coalition series. The second series of The Diary of River Song features encounters with both the Sixth and Seventh Doctors.[2][3] The third series, announced September 2017, features an encounter with the Fifth Doctor with Frances Barber reprising her role of Madame Kovarian.[4]
Announced in October 2017, Big Finish confirmed that River Song would return for a fourth and fifth series to be released in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The fourth series features an encounter with the Fourth Doctor;[5][6] whilst the fifth series features encounters with multiple versions of The Master.[7][8]
Big Finish subsequently renewed The Diary of River Song in October 2018, for a further two more series (the sixth and seventh) to be released in 2019 and 2020.[9] In August 2020, the series was confirmed as renewed for its eighth series.[10] Big Finish Productions revealed in July 2021 a ninth series, uniting River with the Third Doctor, UNIT and Liz Shaw, would debut in October 2021. A tenth series was revealed by Big Finish in March 2022 to debut in July 2022.[11] An eleventh series, announced in August 2022, debuted in January 2023;[12] whilst a twelfth and final series was announced in June 2023 for release the following August.[13]
In April 2024, Big Finish announced a sequel series featuring River Song with Kingston reprising the role titled The Death and Life of River Song, which depicts River's post-mortem adventures as a data ghost, as first seen in "The Name of the Doctor" (2013).[14] The series began in August 2024. With the announcement, Big Finish retroactively renamed the entire audio series to simply River Song, with The Diary of River Song and The Death and Life of River Song serving as individual series within the range.
