Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: bbc, david tennant, disney, doctor who, matt smith, peter capaldi

Doctor Who: Showrunner Russell T. Davies and The Show's New Reality

Doctor Who may not have been renewed for a third season (yet), but Russell T. Davies' remarks and the realities of the TV industry offer hope.

Doctor Who has entered its Disney+ era, or most broadly, the global streaming era, with the first season starring Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson as the latest Doctor and companion. Now that the first season has been out for months and all spoilers and surprises are in the open, fans have a lot to say about what they like or don't like, and returning showrunner Russell T. Davies has a lot to say about those new things that fans have reacted to. SFX conducted several after-action interviews with him after the whole season had aired, and he talked about the reasoning behind the decisions.

Doctor Who Seasons Were Always Going to be 8 Episodes Long

"I'd like 52 episodes of Doctor Who a year; that would make me happy. Never gonna happen," said Davies. The new season was going to be eight episodes (and one Christmas special), no matter which international streaming platform ended up co-producing Doctor Who. That's just the reality of what television seasons are like in this new streaming era. Davies said Eight episodes were what the budget they asked for could cover for the quality of the types of stories they wanted to produce. Eight-episode seasons were established by Netflix as the standard length for a season of hour-long episodes due to the amount of money to be maximized and the belief that eight hours is bingeable in one sitting and just long enough to engage viewers before they lose interest. This means the days of thirteen episodes of a Doctor Who season are over. Oh, and a Christmas special because there was no way Davies would ever not have Doctor Who for a Christmas special.

Don't Worry About the Lack of News About a Third Season Yet

The BBC hasn't renewed the series for a third series yet, but Davies has said he is optimistic there would be and is already writing the scripts. He said if the BBC had no streaming partners, they would scale down the budget and still make Doctor Who. Why? Anyone that thinks Doctor Who might be cancelled are forgetting one thing about how the business works. Well, there's the fact that the series has consistently made the BBC at least £100 million in sales and licensing every year. Why would they want to cancel it? It's good business to keep making it. The BBC has announced that the latest series has been their most popular show amongst young viewers, including those 18 to 35. That's the demographic all the major streamers are after. If Disney+ walks away, Netflix and Amazon would be more than happy to pick up the co-funding and global streaming rights.

The Actors are Not  Fired Because There is No Show to be Fired From Right Now

The BBC is not Hollywood and operates differently: they have only ever always renewed a series of Doctor Who – and every other series – by the year. This means neither Ncuti Gatwa nor Millie Gibson are fired. Unlike Hollywood, where TV networks sign actors to a seven-year contract commitment in case the series becomes a big hit and the actors demand higher salaries when their contract is up for renewal, actors on a BBC series only get their contracts renewed by the year. This has been the case with every Doctor and Companion for every year the series has been on the air, whether it was David Tennant, Matt Smith, or Peter Capaldi. That's why Davies is still optimistic that Gatwa will return for a third season, and Gatwa cannot say whether he's in the third season yet because there is no official renewal yet. And shorter seasons mean actors can go take other jobs like Gibson has been with a new ITV adaptation of The Forsyte Saga, and Gatwa can spend the rest of 2024 on stage in the new West End production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

Meanwhile, you can catch the first season of Doctor Who on Disney+ outside the UK. If you're in the UK, you already know where to watch it.

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