The Big Picture
Doctor Who
‘s switch to Disney+ for international distribution was necessary due to the BBC’s financial constraints.
The partnership allows the series to reach a wider audience and introduces the concept of bigeneration.
The new season featuring the Fifteenth Doctor premieres on May 10, with a mysterious character introduced.
It’s a new age for Doctor Who, with the adventures of the time-traveling alien now premiering on Disney+. When the change was announced, fans from all over the world were confused, considering how the international distribution of the show had always come from the BBC. But just over a month before the latest season of the beloved series premieres, Russell T. Davies has explained why the change was necessary. During a recent episode of the They Like to Watch podcast (via Deadline), the showrunner of Doctor Who talked about the context behind the decision to change the international distribution of the series:
(The BBC) somehow, surely, undoubtedly on its way out in some shape or form. (…) I had already said in interviews that I think
Doctor Who
will have to become a co-pro, there’s no way the BBC is going to fund that. You’ve also got to look in the long term at the end of the BBC, which is somehow, surely, undoubtedly on its way in some shape or form. What is
Doctor Who
going to do then? You have to prepare for that.
While Doctor Who has been popular once more since it was revived with the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), it became too expensive for the BBC to handle the expenses alone, meaning that the series needed to find other ways of funding the Doctor’s adventures. The fact that the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) were introduced on Disney+ will give the series an opportunity to be seen by a bigger audience, taking into account how the home of The Mandalorian is more accessible for viewers than the BBC in some international territories.
The partnership between Doctor Who and Disney+ began with the adventures of the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) and the character’s reunion with Donna Noble (Catherine Tate). Through three special episodes released at the end of last year, Tennant had the opportunity of flying the TARDIS once again before Gatwa stepped in, through a narrative that introduced the concept of bigeneration to Doctor Who. It’s now been established that several versions of the Doctor can exist at the same time, without them having to “die” once a new iteration arrives.
What’s Next for ‘Doctor Who’?
Now that Doctor Who’s transition into Disney+ for international territories has been completed, it’s time for the Fifteenth Doctor to begin telling his own story in a new season. After meeting Ruby Sunday, the Doctor traveled back in time to the moment when his new companion was left behind by a mysterious figure when she was a baby. The identity of that person is a question the Time Lord will need to answer in his upcoming advenutres, which will also feature the introduction of Jonathan Groff as a yet unnamed character.
The new season of Doctor Who premieres on May 10 on Disney+.
Doctor Who
The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord “The Doctor” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friends. The Doctor and companion’s journey through time and space in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery, and kindness.
Release Date March 17, 2006
Main Genre Sci-Fi
Seasons 14
Studio BBC America
Streaming Service(s) Disney+