Red Dwarf co-creator’s new book goes back to show’s beginning for a new tale

While Red Dwarf’s voyages on the screen may be done, it looks like the adventure continues, or, well, begins, on the written page.

Created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, Red Dwarf, which first aired in 1988, has had a varied past, startin gon BBC, ending up on Dave and UKTV, then being wrapped in legal issues, and while primarily a TV show, it’s also had a lot of success in novels and comics, and it seems that, despite looking like it’s days of motion picture glory are over, the story has more to give.

Back in January, I reported that, just as things were getting started on a new Red Dwarf show, it all took a turn for the worse: “Back in January 2023, I went in for a meeting with UKTV who said they wanted to progress a new 90-minute Red Dwarf special. The cast were all on board and I was told to start writing,” Naylor said at the time.

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Red Dwarf’s voyage may have already come to an end

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“Several months later, things were progressing and I had got two-thirds of the way through the script, I had just signed my writer’s contract, when I got an e-mail from UKTV who said they had difficult news to share – they were no longer going to commission scripted comedy, including the RD special, which I hadn’t yet sent them.”

However, not to be outdone, Grant has picked up the baton and, joining forces with sitcom/TV writer Andrew Marshall, has written a new chapter in the Dwarf’s story, only this one is a prequel, taking place before we met Lister, Rimmer, Kryten or Cat.

In a press release for Red Dwarf: Titan, the duo wrote: “We are hugely excited to be sharing hitherto unseen parts of the Red Dwarf universe where no chicken soup machine repairman has gone before. We’re also thrilled to be doing it at Gollancz, the premier home of Science Fiction literature and surprisingly affordable kitchenware, such as the Arthur C. Clarke inter-dimensional fish slice.”

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‘I have lots of more ideas for the future of Red Dwarf,’ says writer

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Due to the legal issues, my understanding is that Grant and Naylor both have rights to continue the Red Dwarf story if they see fit, and the new book is by Grant, whereas the cancelled series/special was from Naylor, meaning these two projects are not related to each other at all, but both are still absolutely canon. How very confusing. How very Red Dwarf.

Check out the full synopsis for Red Dwarf: Titan below and let me know your thoughts.

Before the beginning…

The mining ship Red Dwarf is in orbit around Saturnian moon Titan, and the bulk of the crew is heading down for their shore leave plans: A strangely reluctant hen party; a relaxing cheaty golfing break; a terminally-boring cultural Odessey; a marathon drinking and fighting binge; a stomach-challenging culinary beanfeast and an invigoratingly violent tour of Shore Patrol…

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Menial chicken soup machine repairmen Dave Lister and Arnold Rimmer have slightly less noble ambitions.

Rimmer is in search of some illicit exam-cheating tech, to land a much-lusted-for promotion, and Lister plans to acquire a cat to smuggle back on board as part of a nefarious scheme to return to Earth. Mainly they just want to get as far away from each other as possible. However, their objectives are scuppered when they receive a cryptic message… from the future.

Official Announcement:

AWOOGA, AWOOGA: The first #RedDwarf novel in 30 years is coming soon from Gollancz!

RED DWARF: TITAN, written by Rob Grant and Andrew Marshall, features a brand new adventure set before the accident that wipes out the crew.

Preorder at https://t.co/jyRrQQ7lyO pic.twitter.com/iGh4E7EMQg

— Red Dwarf (@RedDwarfHQ) February 19, 2026

The two feuding crewmen are catapulted into a breakneck race to save not only this, but every other Reality.

Along the way, they’ll find themselves united again, for the first time, with some new, but somehow old friends, as they embark on a labyrinthian quest through the seediest, most dangerous underbelly of humankind’s furthest outpost, where lurk bizarre off-worldly dangers and one mysterious hidden nemesis with an obscure, yet clearly lethal agenda.

So strap yourself into your Holly Hop Drive, and set your bazookoids to “thrill” – the Dwarfers are taking on TITAN.

‘Don’t tell my mother I died with my arm up a gorilla’s bottom.’

‘But sir – it will be on the death certificate.’

Red Dwarf: Titan is due for release July 16th

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