Back in 2022, Disney announced it was going to partner with the BBC to bring the classic British sci-fi show, “Doctor Who”, to Disney+ around the world as an effort to try to turn it into a global franchise for UK audiences and the rest of the world.

Since that initial announcement, we’ve seen three 60th Anniversary specials, which reunited David Tennant with Catherine Tate, along with a Christmas special and a brand-new eight-episode series released on the BBC in the UK and on Disney+ everywhere else, with Ncuti Gatwa would be taking over the role of “The Doctor”.

The partnership between the BBC and Disney has seen the show get an injection of additional money to boost the budget, which has resulted in bigger and better special effects than in previous years.   With the commitment, the creatives soon created two brand new seasons, along with two Christmas specials, all before the first season had fully arrived on Disney+.

Following the release of the first season of the soft reboot of this classic British series, it’s become obvious that the show hasn’t performed as well as many fans would have expected.  The show never managed to make the Nielsen streaming chart in the United States, and Disney has never publically stated how successful the show has been, which is keen to do whenever a new record is broken.

This has led to lots of speculation on the future of “Doctor Who”, especially Disney’s involvement in the show.   Later this year, a new Christmas special will be released, and next year, the second season will hit our screens.  Only recently, Disney and the BBC announced that they had started production on a new spin-off series, “The War Between The Land And The Sea”.

But the question mark over the future of Disney’s involvement in “Doctor Who” doesn’t look like it’s going to be answered any time soon, as recently, during an interview with SFX, showrunner Russell T Davies explained that he doesn’t expect there to be news on a third season renewal until the second one has aired, stating:

“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.”

“Doctor Who” has recently celebrated its 60th anniversary and was cancelled back in 1989, before returning in the 1990s with a TV movie, before going through a revival in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston taking on the role. 

Should Disney pull its financial support for the show, it doesn’t mean that “Doctor Who” would end, as it’s owned and distributed by the BBC; it just would mean we wouldn’t likely see future seasons available on Disney+, as the BBC could continue by themselves or get in other financial backers.

Roger’s Take:  It’s not a huge surprise to see Disney holding off on deciding on their involvement.  With multiple projects still to be released, it wouldn’t make much sense to reveal they’ve no faith in the show by pulling their investment ahead of the release of the second season or spin-off.   Many fans have seen how Disney has cancelled shows like “Willow” and “The Acolyte” for low viewership, which had higher ratings than “Doctor Who”. 

But we don’t know how much “Doctor Who” costs Disney to co-finance, and it’s likely far less than a Star Wars show, so the viewership results won’t need to be as high.  However, there will no doubt still be a target, and hopefully, interest in the second season will increase, but with a shadow over the show’s future and a general lack of advertising for the show, unless something changes, I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney eventually pulls out in a couple of years time, once everything in production has been released.

You can watch the first season of “Doctor Who”, along with the 60th Anniversary specials on the BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Disney+ around the world.

Do you think Disney will continue its involvement in “Doctor Who”?  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

View all posts