Russell T. Davies teased a big announcement for Doctor Who not long ago, but I don't think anyone predicted that it'd be his exit. The showrunner announced he's officially completed his second stint and said that the BBC series will not return to the 2026 TV schedule as previously promised. This is development that sure to stoke up varied feelings within the Who fandom. As for me, though, I think this is the right decision for the franchise.
While previously leaked information suggested Doctor Who's Christmas special was canceled, there was news that the series had found a new star of the show and was aiming to return sometime around Easter 2027. It doesn't seem like that's the case based on Russell T. Davies' post on Instagram, in which he says the BBC is "putting the show out to tender":
And so GOODBYE from me to Doctor Who but HELLO to a big new future for the show, as the BBC announces it’s putting the show out to tender. As a result, there won’t be a Christmas Special - we only cooked that up to guarantee a future when no one knew what would happen, but now we do know, there’s no need for it. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who… but you’ll be waiting for MORE Doctor Who than a one-off. So it’s worth it! For the record: there was no script, I never wrote it, and no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor. You may disagree; fine, sit in that chair and wait to be proved right. You’ll wait a lonnng time 🪑 Now I’m as excited as anyone to see what comes next! Will they keep the theme tune? Will they lose the blue box? Will they bring back the Drahvin?! It’s all up for grabs, which is so Doctor Who, exciting and unpredictable and new! Here comes the future, vworp vworp 🌪️ [Doctor Who] ♥️
While some people may be upset with the news, there's reason to see this as a positive development. Of course, I say that with full respect to Russell T. Davies, who did just about everything a showrunner can do to try and increase viewership for Doctor Who. With that, at the end of the day, if bringing back David Tennant, casting a young up-and-coming star like Ncuti Gatwa, guest stars like Jonathan Groff, and making Billie Piper a literal Doctor isn't enough to bring back fans, then the franchise needs a larger change.
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Of course, Russell T. Davies hinted at some potentially big changes in store for the franchise, but again, is he wrong? Sure, taking away the TARDIS or other cornerstones of what makes Doctor Who would upset some fans but, as it stands right now, the core fandom is not enough to make the franchise a success.
Personally, I think the journey starts with the right actor.Who needs a good (but not overly saturated) name to play the Time Lord, because that's the easiest path to drawing in a new audience. Ncuti Gatwa's casting was a great choice, and he made for a great Doctor. So find another up-and-coming young actor to take the helm and try to recapture the magic that had so many people hooked.
So now, we wait, and the question no one has the answer to at this time is, how long? Will it be a couple of months before we get an update on Doctor Who, or are we looking at a couple of years? The last time Doctor Who was canceled, it took fifteen years for it to return to TV. The BBC has not canceled the series at this time, so I'm hopeful it won't be too long before it returns.
In the meantime, those of us in the United States have the back catalog of the series on streaming again, so at least we can watch past Christmas specials! We can also check out some of the best Doctor Who episodes, many of which Russell T. Davies had a hand in. Hey, maybe Disney+ will throw us a bone and finally release The War Between the Land and the Sea, and we can finally see that acclaimed spinoff.
So, while there's no Doctor Who coming up in the foreseeable future, do yourself a favor by looking through some of the franchise's best episodes. The newer episodes are still over on Disney+, but I do wonder if they'll eventually be sent over to AMC once Disney has to renew the rights to it. Aside from that, I remain eager to see what lies ahead for this beloved franchise.
