Image: BBC
Every time the BBC brings in a new actor to portray the Doctor, their inaugural Doctor Who season (and any holiday specials that precede it) carry weight behind them.
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The same is true of the newest season, which introduced Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, though the show had other expectations stacked on top of it. Not only was this the 40th season of the series overall, it saw the return of previous showrunners Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat—the latter just on writer duty for a single duty—and its debut on Disney+. That’s a lot of baggage for any show to carry, let alone a genre giant as big as this that’s also introducing the first Black man play the Doctor. Given how Gatwa’s Fifteen was also introduced as a supporting character to David Tennant coming back for Doctor seconds, it was a little up in the air as to how he’d fare in his debut season.
As of this weekend, things have come to a close until the show returns in full for a holiday special and new season in 2025. (Complete with a new Companion!) While the show doesn’t appear to be doing hot ratings-wise, that may not really matter given how viewers have taken a shine to Gatwa’s interpretation of the Doctor. Younger audiences especially seem to be really liking it, per Davies earlier in the week, and those viewers may be so compelled by his take they end up bcoming lifelong fans of the series just to see who follows. And as our recaps have stated, this has been a fine season, albeit uneven in spots.
To that end, we want to know what you think of the newest Who season. Loved it, hated it, where does it need to improve—tell us your thoughts on all of that in the comments below. Look for our recap of the season finale “Empire of Death” on Monday.
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