Russell T Davies is writing episodes for Doctor Who series 16, but it’s unclear if the BBC and Disney+ will give it the go ahead.
The return of Doctor Who under the stewardship of Russell T Davies to our screens has seen a shift in the way that the programme is distributed. The BBC is screening the show in a Saturday teatime slot, but also releasing it onto the iPlayer service hours ahead of that. Then, outside of the US, Disney+ has distribution rights to Doctor Who, having inked a deal to put substantive investment into the show.
Ncuti Gatwa in the role of the Doctor has already shot two series of the show as well. Series 14 comes to an end this coming weekend, and then there’s a fresh series run already filmed for 2025. Beyond that? Well, things are a little up in the air.
Doctor Who’s return hasn’t been a gigantic ratings success, something that Russell T Davies has conceded. But also, he’s noted that it’s doing well amongst younger viewers, which was the brief apparently given to him by the BBC and Disney+.
Will, though, there be more adventures beyond 2025? Apparently, that’s far from confirmed. Chatting to the Radio Times, Davies said that series 16 of the show is “still up in the air”. That he’s working on more scripts for more episodes of Doctor Who, but that they’ve not yet been formally commissioned. Furthermore, that there’s a big decision coming up in 2025, which is when Disney+ has to decide whether to renew its deal. Should it choose not to, that’ll drop a whole lot of cash out of the show.
Davies does add that he’s “very confident” of the show’s future, and the fact that it’s waiting for its commission is “the same for every TV programme”.
This weekend sees the Doctor Who finale play in cinemas around the UK, incidentally. More news on the future of the show as we hear it.
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