Earlier this summer, Disney released the first season of the soft “reboot” of the classic British sci-fi series, “Doctor Who”, which tells the story of The Doctor and his companion, Ruby Sunday, who travel across time and space, with adventures all the way from the Regency era in England, to war-torn future worlds. Throughout their adventures in the TARDIS – a time-travelling ship shaped like a police box – they encounter incredible friends and dangerous foes, including a terrifying bogeyman and the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet.

The show recently celebrated its 60th anniversary, which saw the release of three specials. David Tennant returned as the Doctor, leading to the character splitting into two, with Ncuti Gatwa taking over as the fifteenth Doctor.

Back in 2022, the BBC announced it would team up with Disney so that the new show would be released on Disney+ around the world, except for in the UK and Ireland.   The partnership included at least two seasons, along with some Christmas and 60th anniversary specials, all of which have been already been filmed. 

However, due to the lacklustre viewership for the latest “Doctor Who” season, fans and investors have been asking questions about the partnership’s future. With many speculating that Disney could pull out of the deal if the viewership numbers don’t improve.

Only last month at San Diego Comic-Con, Disney and the BBC announced a new spin-off series called “The War Between The Land And The Sea,” which would also be coming to Disney+ around the world and on the BBC in the UK, which left many fans feeling hopeful about the future partnership between Disney and the BBC.

Earlier today at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Disney’s SVP of original productions in EMEA, Liam Keelan, was asked by Deadline about the future of the unique partnership with the BBC, to which he replied:

“[Doctor Who] is a fabulous series. Obviously, in the UK it’s fully BBC, rightly so. We take rest of world rights. But really, really happy to have it. I think just, the quirkiness of it, the fact that it’s in that sci-fi world and when you think about what Disney offers in other regards, I think it feels like a really good fit to me. I mean it’s great to have it.

Unfortunately, Liam never actually gave any insight into the future of the show on Disney+, but he still spoke very positively, as you’d expect, since there is still a Christmas special coming later this year, the new spin-off show set to begin filming next month, and an entire second season already filmed, currently in post-production, to be released next year.

Roger’s Take:  While Disney hasn’t released any viewership data for “Doctor Who”, which it usually does if something is a hit, this deal is also very unique in that Disney is just co-funding the show, so it’s likely the majority of the investment is on the BBC’s side and its a much cheaper show to produce than a big Star Wars or Marvel show.  This means the threshold for how many viewers the show gets globally is likely far lower than for an original series that Disney fully pays for.   Ultimately, with a whole other season due to be released next year, it’s doubtful we will find out about a potential third season on Disney+ to a while.

What do you think about the future of “Doctor Who” on Disney+?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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