Following the exit of Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor at the end of Doctor Who season 2 (aka series 15) of the beloved BBC series, rumors and insider comments suggested the show was shelved; however, a new report suggests assumptions of the The Doctor’s demise might have been greatly exaggerated. Cancellation anxiety is a familiar state of mind for Whovians – considering the TV show was put on a 16-year hiatus in 1989 while an ever-evolving landscape for TV consumption (from broadcast to on-demand streaming) has resulted in a significant decline in viewership and hype for Doctor Who.
Meanwhile, a recent interview with former Doctor Who writer Robert Shearman rattled the fandom to new levels of worry – thanks to the particularly bleak suggestion that the series is “as dead as we’ve probably ever known it.“
In response, Doctor Who producer Jane Tranter spoke to BBC Radio Wales (via Deadline) to dispute Shearman’s assertion, outright chastising the writer for what she called “rude” comments:
“That’s really rude, actually. And really untrue. The plans for Doctor Who are really simply this: the BBC and BBC Studios had a partnership with Disney+ for 26 episodes. We are currently 21 episodes down into that 26-episode run. We have got another five episodes of The War Between The Land And The Sea to come. At some point after that, decisions will be made together with all of us about what the future of Doctor Who entails.“
Tranter didn’t just rebuke Shearman, she also suggested that fans should trust the team’s commitment to the series – while acknowledging that TV production has evolved (meaning that an irregular release schedule isn’t a problem and should be expected in modern TV production).
“It’s a 60-year-old franchise. It’s been going for 20 years nonstop since we brought it back in 2005 [when I worked at the BBC]. You would expect it to change, wouldn’t you? Nothing continues the same always, or it shouldn’t continue the same always. So it will change in some form or another. But the one thing we can all be really clear of is that the Doctor will be back and everyone, including me, including all of us, just has to wait patiently to see when — and who.”
Of course, Tranter has a vested interest in slapping down negative press and cancellation rumors – especially if producers are going to be making decisions about the short and longterm fate of the series in the coming months. Perception within the fandom that Doctor Who is going to be cancelled or, worse yet, should be cancelled could impact Disney’s decision to co-sign more episodes – or, at the very least, how much they’d be willing to invest in the partnership.
Tranter also isn’t overly-specific here – echoing the sentiment of BBC Chief Content Officer Katie Phillips who, back in August, who stated Doctor Who wasn’t going anywhere. Neither executive provided specifics on future plans or even timelines on when fans will have a more concrete decision.
As a result, while disputing Shearman’s comments is a positive sign that we could get more Doctor Who in the near-future, it’s not necessarily one that’s going to fill Whovians with confidence – since, even if Disney partners with the BBC again and production gets rolling, it would still be several years before a new season makes it to air. BBC could soften that wait a bit with another round of specials – the soonest of which would almost certainly follow-on Season 2’s finale cliffhanger which saw Gatwa regenerate into Billie Piper (who previously played companion Rose Tyler).
Reading between the lines, considering five episodes of the Disney/BBC partnership have yet to air, it looks like Disney wants to see how the spinoff series The War Between The Land And The Sea performs on the platform before making a decision on how (possibly if), they’ll be proceeding with more Doctor Who. In turn, that means BBC is in a holding pattern for how they can proceed, which explains why BBC heads keep reinforcing their commitment to the series without providing concrete details.
If Disney does sign-on, it might mean a bigger, more complex production that would, depending on how the Mouse House feels about past performance of the show on Disney+ as well as how confident they are in the current production team, influence negotiations. If Disney doesn’t sign-on, BBC might be looking at a smaller production, a longer hiatus, or new partners altogether.
The good news: it does appear as though fans will get more Doctor Who. The bad news: it’s going to be a long time before we get any firm details, since how the show continues and what form it takes is in a holding-pattern until after The War Between The Land And The Sea airs… in 2026.
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