Disney+ Ends “Doctor Who” Partnership With The BBC
Back in 2022, Disney announced it was teaming up with the BBC to bring the long-running, iconic British sci-fi series, “Doctor Who”, which saw the show refreshed and brought to Disney+ around the world, while staying with the BBC in the UK.
The partnership began with three specials that saw David Tennant return as the Doctor, to celebrate the show’s 60th anniversary, before the torch was passed to Ncuti Gatwa, who took over the iconic role, which resulted in two Christmas specials and two seasons, plus an upcoming spin-off series, “The War Between the Land and the Sea”, which is coming to Disney+ and the BBC later in the year.
Unfortunately, the new “Doctor Who” just didn’t click with audiences, resulting in a decline in viewership in the United Kingdom, and the show didn’t seem to be making much impact on Disney+ globally. The show also failed to make it onto the Nielsen streaming chart in the US, highlighting how few people actually watched it.
Rumours about its future with Disney plagued the show after failing to capture audiences, and due to continuous negative publicity over storylines, actors, and characters, often due to political issues.
Shortly after the season two finale was released earlier this summer, it was confirmed that Ncuti Gatwa had quit the show, resulting in the Doctor once again regenerating.
Today, it’s been confirmed by the BBC that Disney will no longer be partnering with them for the next season; however, they did confirm that “Doctor Who” will be back on our screens at Christmas 2026 with a special episode written by Russell T Davies. They’ve also confirmed that they are fully committed to the show and will announce plans for the next series in due course to ensure the Doctor’s adventures continue. There is also a brand-new animation series for CBeebies, which is in development.
Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama, BBC, said in a statement regarding Disney not renewing its deal:
“We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea. The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026. We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course, which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”
It’s unclear if the two seasons, along with Christmas and 60th anniversary specials, will remain on Disney+ and for how long, but it’s likely they will eventually be removed since the show is owned by the BBC.
Roger’s Take: After so much speculation, it’s good that the BBC has finally confirmed the future of the show, which I always expected would continue since it’s one of the BBC’s biggest assets. Unfortunately, “Doctor Who” never seemed a priority for Disney; bar a launch party and a photoshoot at Disneyland, it never felt like Disney was willing to promote a show they didn’t have full ownership of. The deal was made during former CEO Bob Chapek’s leadership to quickly boost the amount of content coming to Disney+, so once he was removed from the top job, I always felt Bob Iger wasn’t going to spend money on a franchise they couldn’t utilise on a grand scale.
The show also became a PR nightmare for Disney due to some of the plotlines causing a political backlash against the company over some of the creative choices, which Disney has been trying to walk back from. I don’t think this helped with a potential renewal. I also doubt that Disney will do much to promote the new spin-off series, bar the legally contracted obligations.
What do you think of Disney’s decision regarding “Doctor Who”? Let me know on social media!
