“Doctor Who” No Closer To A Revival

In October last year, Disney+ officially ended its partnership with the BBC regarding “Doctor Who”.

Disney’s attempt to bring the franchise to a wider global audience saw an uptick in the budget (around $6-8 million per episode, double that of the Jodie Whittaker era) to bring the show more in line with higher-profile and more expensive HBO, Disney and Amazon shows.

But the revival struggled to find an audience both in the UK and on Disney+ and was subjected to repeated backlash over its overly politically correct stories. The show ended with Ncuti Gatwa’s The Doctor regenerating into a female Doctor with the face of prior companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper).

We are reportedly getting a Christmas special on the BBC this year written by Davies, one that could mark the end of his stint as showrunner with a new creative team coming onboard and working under a tighter budget.

Now, Deadline spoke this week with BBC Studios production chief Zai Bennett and indicates the future of the program remains uncertain.

Asked if BBC Studios is willing to provide the money needed to keep the franchise alive, Bennett said he “won’t speak for the BBC” but added that “we’re all in it together” regarding the show’s future:

“We’re a big, important part of Doctor Who and are all motivated to make sure Doctor Who has a long and flourishing life. We’ve got the Christmas special coming. After that, it’s time for us all to work on it.”

The comments come as the spin-off series “The War Between the Land and Sea,” which aired in the UK back in December on the BBC, still hasn’t set a Disney+ premiere date in other territories.