The viewership for Doctor Who dropped in recent seasons, and its showrunner is leaving. Will the TARDIS get put in mothballs, or will the Doctor continue to travel through time and space?
What Is It?
This series follows the time traveler known as the Doctor, who comes from a race of Time Lords originating from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor helps those threatened by other time travelers or nefarious alien races and undergoes transformations from time to time when mortally injured. The Doctor also tends to bring companions along in adventures through time and space.
Aired: 1963-1989, BBC, 26 Seasons Totaling 841 Episodes, 2005-Present, 15 Seasons Totaling 169 Episodes + Specials (So Far)
Starring: William Hartnell, Patrick Toughton, John Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker, Ncuti Gatwa
Created By: Sydney Newman, C.E. Weber, Donald Wilson
Why Is It in Danger?
Doctor Who–including the classic series–is the longest running sci fi and fantasy television show in the world, but there have been concerns that it may be coming to an end for a second time (the original series was cancelled in 1989, then revived in 2005). The most recent season–the second or the fifteenth depending on which numbering you prefer–saw viewership drop to all-time lows, and the future of the series has been placed in doubt. The numbers for Ncuti Gatwa’s second year as the Doctor were down by around half a million viewers per episode from his first season for the BBC airings, and the show did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings for its run on Disney+. In addition, the deal that Disney had in place to co-produce the series came to an end, with the Mouse House showing no interest in renewing it.
Showrunner Russel T. Davies had plans in place to carry the Doctor through at least three more seasons. But those will not happen because he has announced that he will be leaving the series and that the planned Christmas Special will be cancelled (as opposed to delaying it as originally announced).
So what does this mean about the future of the show? Will this long-running, iconic series be coming to an end? Not according to the BBC, and they put out following statement concerning the future of the show:
After careful consideration, the BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have collectively decided not to go ahead with the previously announced Doctor Who Christmas episode. This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans, but in order to set the show up for future series, it was decided that rather than bridge the gap with a one off special, we are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show which ensures that when the TARDIS lands once more, it does so in all its glory.
They are looking for other creative teams to make proposals on where the show could go next, and they are also looking for partners to help with financing. This does mean that Doctor Who is going on a bit of a hiatus, though, and there is no way of telling at this point how long that will last. And take note that when the classic run of the show ended in 1989 after Sylvester McCoy spent three seasons in the lead role, the BBC kept saying that the show would return. That turned into a sixteen-year hiatus (with a brief respite from the 1996 movie), so we have no way of knowing if the show might follow a similar path at this point.
But the fact is, that each Doctor’s regeneration gives the show a chance to reboot itself, and when they do start it up again, they will be at a new beginning that point (though they do have to resolve the cliffhanger from the fifteenth Doctor’s finale). There are rumors that both Netflix and HBO have shown an interest in partnering with the BBC on this property, so perhaps the hiatus will be short-lived. But I would not be surprised if there is a pause of at least a couple of years to sort things out and determine a new direction. Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski has expressed an interest in joining the series as showrunner, and that would be a heck of a powerhouse creator to get onboard the franchise. And if not him, there are likely quite a few other talented people in the industry that might have an interest in taking a stab at this one.
So, Doctor Who has not been cancelled just yet, and considering that it is an iconic franchise that has plenty of potential, my guess is that it still has some life to it. But based on current events, it may be a few years before the TARDIS is back in action.
What Can Fans Do to Help the Show?
The best thing that fans can do at this point is watch the show. In the U.S., they can watch all of the revival seasons (except for the Ncuti Gatwa years which Disney still has licensed) on its new home AMC+, and I believe that all of those are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK. They should also take to the social networks to get it trending and bring it more attention. Viewership was down, but if the fans make enough noise and stage watch parties, they can prove that there is still a large audience out there. Doctor Who has survived through 31 seasons so far, and it seems unlikely that it will go down without a fight. And if somebody like J. Michael Straczynski got involved, that could really breathe new life into the franchise. But the fans need to prove that they want the show to continue (even if they didn’t care for the recent seasons) in order for this one to avoid an extended hiatus or possibly even cancellation.
Have you been watching Doctor Who and will you support fan efforts to keep it from getting cancelled? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.
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