Posted in: BBC, Disney+, TV | Tagged: doctor who, Ncuti Gatwa

Doctor Who Season 3 Hopes Get Big Boost From U.S./U.K. TV Report

Hope for a third season of Russell T. Davies' Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson-starring Doctor Who got a big boost from a U.S./U.K. TV report.

Even with our attention split between the upcoming Steven Moffat-written, Nicola Coughlan-starring Christmas Special "Joy to the World" ("Joy to the Worlds"?) and the second season of Showrunner Russell T. Davies' Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor), Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday), and Varada Sethu (Belinda Chandra)-starring Doctor Who, we've been keeping our radars tuned into what the future might hold in terms of a third season of and if it would still involve the BBC and Disney+ still working together on it. There have been rumors, gossip, innuendo, and even (perish the thought) actual facts that have left a lot of folks assuming a lot of different things. Officially? All sides say things look good but that it's way too soon to make a call on a third season when the Christmas Special hasn't hit yet (let alone the second season).

But if you're looking for some good news, there was a whole lot of positivity to take out of Pact's latest UK TV Exports Report – showing that the sales of British shows to the U.S. hit a record high last year. "Despite the specific challenges coming from the U.S. market in the last 24 months, the U.S. continues to be the largest destination for TV exports," noted the organization, which represents quite a few UK indies. One of the shows that was spotlighted as having performed particularly well? Yup, the joint production effort between the BBC and "The Mouse" was noted for "regenerating" the franchise coming out of its successful series on 60th anniversary specials.

Doctor Who & Season 3: What's Going On?

Okay, so it's time for a brief modern history lesson. In an interview with SFX Magazine at the end of August, Davies had this to share about the future of the series: "It's an industry decision; it's like any business – these things take time. I think the decision will come after the transmission of season two. That's what we're expecting, that's what we've always been heading towards." Davies' comments were in response to rumblings on social media during the weeks prior, speculating that somehow Disney wasn't happy with its deal with the BBC and Bad Wolf. With us so far? Great!

That brings us to The Graham Norton Show, with reports from the taping that Gatwa had revealed that the team would begin filming Season 3/Season 16 in 2025. Joining Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez (Emilia Pérez), Miranda Hart (I Haven't Been Entirely Honest with You), Kevin Kline (Disclaimer), and Rag 'n' Bone Man in support of his run in the National Theatre's production of The Importance of Being Earnest, Gatwa had this to say: "It is all going well. We did the second series this year, the Christmas special is coming up, and we are filming a third series next year."

Except… that wasn't what ended up airing. Instead, Gatwa is shown saying, "We finished the second season earlier this year, we've got the Christmas episode coming out … at Christmas … But it's been amazing." Well, you can imagine how that got the rumors and gossip going on social media and pop culture news sites, with many wondering if the edit was done at the request of the BBC. Earlier today, Deadline Hollywood reported that the popular talk show "made the edit to liven up Gatwa's answer and was not obeying a 'sinister' request from BBC bosses" (DH's wording). Reportedly, the Doctor Who team wasn't involved in arranging Gatwa's "Graham Norton" visit, and the BBC is standing by its previous comments that a decision on a third season won't happen until after Season 2 debuts (with Spring 2025 being eyed). "As we've said previously, the decision on season three will be made after season two transmits, and as always, we don't comment on speculation," shared a BBC spokesperson.

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