DOCTOR WHO Has NOT Been Renewed For Season 3 Confirms Showrunner Russell T Davies

DOCTOR WHO Has NOT Been Renewed For Season 3 Confirms Showrunner Russell T Davies

It looked like Doctor Who had a bright future on Disney+ as part of a new BBC deal with the streamer, but showrunner Russell T Davies has now confirmed a season 3 renewal hasn't happened...not yet, anyway!

By JoshWilding - Sep 02, 2024 08:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Doctor Who
Source: SFX (via SFFGazette.com)

The latest Doctor Who revival hasn't been the hit most expected; with Disney+ bringing the series to a global audience and giving the long-running sci-fi series a much-needed cash injection, fans imagined it might finally reach the same heights as The Mandalorian and Stranger Things

Instead, returning showrunner Russell T Davies' new season 1 divided fans and viewership hasn't been good. That's despite claims the main goal was drawing much younger viewers to the show. 

Then, there was the expected (and unfortunate) backlash to Doctor Who featuring a Black lead and LGBTQ+ themes. Ultimately, things came to a head in July with a damning report suggesting the show could be cancelled after season 2 and that Disney+ might part ways with the BBC over what's proven to be a failed, pricey experiment for the streamer.

Talking to SFX (via SFFGazette.com), Davies didn't give too much away but confirmed Doctor Who has not been renewed for a third batch of episodes.

"It’s an industry decision, it's like any business - these things take time," he said. "I think the decision will come after the transmission of season two. That's what we're expecting, that's what we've always been heading towards."

It appears ambitious plans for Doctor Who have been dialled back, though a spin-off titled The War Between The Land And The Sea is on the way and not generating much in the way of buzz. In fact, if that flops, it could seal the main show's fate.

One headline-grabbing complaint made during Doctor Who season 1 was regarding a gay romance between Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor and Jonathan Groff's Rogue.

As Deadline reports, some UK viewers argued the episode's content was "unsuitable for children," prompting a BBC investigation which has now led to the following statement being issued:

"The ECU considered the sexual innuendo to be towards the mildest end of the spectrum and in any case likely to go over the heads of children. The development of the relationship served the needs of a fast-moving plot and was unlikely to strike viewers of any age as a model for interpersonal relationships outside this particular fictional context."

"They might not be the ratings we’d love. We always want higher," Davies acknowledged earlier this year. "But they are building over the 28-day period. Episode one, 'Space Babies,' is already up to 5.6 million and counting. So it is getting there. And actually, I was brought back to bring in a younger audience. That’s been massively successful."

He added, "The audience no one ever gets are the under-30s. They just don’t watch television anymore. But those figures are astronomic for Doctor Who, it’s their top program in that bracket. I never thought it was possible, to be honest. But according to the people who juggle the numbers, all targets have been reached and exceeded. The BBC are running around like mad things."

Doctor Who season 2 is expected to begin airing/streaming early next year. 

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harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 9/2/2024, 8:44 AM
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philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 9/2/2024, 8:46 AM
How is it news that something hasn’t happened yet?

I’m not saying it will be renewed. But it’s not been cancelled. Disney just has t picked up a third season at this point.

Davies’ comments sound like they’re hoping it will happens.

In all honesty, unless things pick up and they adjust their approach to hit the broader audience, it will just head back to exclusively on bbc.
Radders
Radders - 9/2/2024, 8:51 AM
Not exactly a surprise, I don't imagine they'd get a season 2 if it wasn't already made - the recent specials and the latest season were atrocious.

As for the "relationship" in Rogue, the Doctor was just a horn dog who wanted a quick hook up - a million miles away from who the character is
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/2/2024, 8:59 AM
@Radders - A million miles away from who the character is? The character changes with every regeneration, while still retaining certain characteristics.
philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 9/2/2024, 9:07 AM
@ObserverIO - no, but this one’s skin color is different and he shows affection towards men too…

Heavens noooooooooo.!!!!!!

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philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 9/2/2024, 10:47 AM
@DocSpock - it wasn’t cancelled genius.
Radders
Radders - 9/4/2024, 8:43 AM
@ObserverIO - What changes is the emphasis on certain characteristics above others. Other than with Rose, which was a slow burn, he's been pretty much asexual so to be a horn dog chasing tail is not his character, neither is sobbing uncontrollably every episode
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/4/2024, 1:17 PM
@Radders - exactly. It's the new Doctor, not the old ones.
Radders
Radders - 9/5/2024, 8:22 AM
@ObserverIO - A new Doctor who is bereft of everything that made the Doctor the Doctor...fair enough if you're cool with that - most people who used to watch clearly aren't
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/5/2024, 2:27 PM
@Radders - Watch the first Doctor, William Hartnell. Then watch any Doctor since then and you might be saying the same thing. Their personalities are all different. New things are added with each regeneration.

That's a fact.

So what you're saying is normal for Doctor Who. It shouldn't be a problem. If you have a problem with new things being added, then you have a problem with Doctor Who, generally.

Maybe it's just the type of additions that you have a problem with. The overt homoeroticism. I think that's it, isn't it?
Radders
Radders - 9/6/2024, 9:00 AM
@ObserverIO - Such a shame you dropped into the lazy and plainly nonsensical, istophobe argument.

I've watched Doctor Who for 45 years and I've seen this "Doctor who is all about change" argument before and its as wrong now as it's always been. The cast change but the core is the same, so I refer to my previous comment, everything that is The Doctor, is entirely missing from this regeneration not to mention the writing is terrible
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/6/2024, 1:30 PM
@Radders - Compare William Hartnell, the first Doctor, to David Tennant. Completely [frick]ing different.

David Tennant was nothing like William Hartnell at all, and furthermore he had attributes and character traits that were so far in opposition to the character that William Hartnell portrayed.
Radders
Radders - 9/9/2024, 8:48 AM
@ObserverIO - And yet neither of them cried in every episode, were weak, ineffectual or stupid. Again, there was nothing "the Doctor" about this regeneration
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/9/2024, 2:05 PM
@Radders - See? You've just said it yourself. It's the specific traits that you personally don't like. Not the fact that they're different.

Just because no previous Doctor had these traits doesn't mean that there's "Nothing 'The Doctor' about this regeneration". Because if if that were the case then there'd be nothing 'The Doctor' about Tom Baker either.
Radders
Radders - 9/11/2024, 8:52 AM
@ObserverIO - Yeah, you could just say you don't get it cause other than drawing a diagram I don't know how else I can explain it to you.

As I said originall, if you're happy with this regeneration, cool, but there's nothing "The Doctor" about this regeneration
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/11/2024, 6:12 PM
@Radders - You don't get what I'm saying at all do you?

Your idea of 'The Doctor' is based on the regenerations that you're used to. But they were different from the earlier Doctors. Change has happened before, is happening now and will happen again.
Radders
Radders - 9/13/2024, 8:55 AM
@ObserverIO - Oh I do, you're saying "it always changes" which I addressed and as I say, I've watched Doctor Who for 45 years this version is the antithesis of all that came before, even Jodies version, as poor as it was, kept some semblance of that.

As I say, your argument is its Ok to change him completely, but you do that and strip away the core of the charcater so he's no longer that character
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/13/2024, 12:07 PM
@Radders - Well that's what they did when Tom Baker took over. They changed him radically. And now those elements are seen as definitive.
Radders
Radders - 9/18/2024, 9:14 AM
@ObserverIO - I just looked when Baker Took over - 50 years ago so, given I started watching with Pertwee I've been watching it longer than 50 years - sh*t that ages me.

At the time Baker didn't seem that much of a departure to me, he was still recognisable as the same person
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/18/2024, 2:29 PM
@Radders - Nor even the guy in the mirror is recognisable as the same person today, lol.
Radders
Radders - 9/2/2024, 8:54 AM
Oh and whilst not a word I use - if you want to understand what people mean when the use "woke " as a derogatory term, just look at Doctor Who, its the poster child for it
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/2/2024, 8:57 AM
@Radders - You mean portraying a genderless, shapeshifting, pansexual, alien time lord as a black gay man?
BaddestOptics
BaddestOptics - 9/2/2024, 11:01 AM
@Radders - pretending like the definition of "woke" isn't more fluid than Doctor Who's gender is adorable. It's a rallying cry for people too stupid to articulate their point and too cowardly to just say what a bigot they are.
Radders
Radders - 9/4/2024, 8:44 AM
@ObserverIO - except he wasn't genderless until they recently introduced it
Radders
Radders - 9/4/2024, 8:55 AM
@BaddestOptics - It's adorable that you don't know the lore or the recent retconned history of the Doctor to make that statement, whilst I've been watching it for 40 years. I guess, "you're an istaphobe" is the basic learned opinion.

Let me illuminate you - the recent introduction of Time Lords changing gender, a female Master, a female Doctor, preaching and badly written stories, messed up morality, the entire retconning of the Doctors history to introduce diverse versions pre Hartnell. Gender ideology and pronouns (which now seem to have been completely abandoned) The queering up of the show (RTDs words not mine) A race swap, a sexuality swap (the doctor is pansexual not gay) and more preaching and bad stories. I could probably list with more, but thats off the top of my head.

Thanks for the default reply though, not unexpected.
BaddestOptics
BaddestOptics - 9/4/2024, 9:38 AM
@Radders - that's the most sexless wall of text on the internet. You should be proud of yourself.
Radders
Radders - 9/5/2024, 8:19 AM
@BaddestOptics - So you've got no argument...got it
BaddestOptics
BaddestOptics - 9/5/2024, 8:33 AM
@Radders - I've got no time to debunk woke being nothing more than sexless, miserable wretches screaming about a made up culture war. I also have no desire to engage with "well actually in season 6, episode 2 the fifth doctor says "garba dar dar" which is Galifrean for "there are only two genders" so Russell Davies is histories greatest monster for making him black"
Radders
Radders - 9/5/2024, 8:54 AM
@BaddestOptics - So...still no argument just insults lol thanks for playing, have a good day.
BaddestOptics
BaddestOptics - 9/5/2024, 9:24 AM
@Radders - plenty of argument, just none that you're able to engage with.
Radders
Radders - 9/6/2024, 9:05 AM
@BaddestOptics - lol Quick tip, when you've done the great grandstanding "you're not worth talking to" post, it's best not to keep replying, it makes the L worse
BaddestOptics
BaddestOptics - 9/6/2024, 7:35 PM
@Radders - I don't recall hitting you with "you're not worth talking to" In fact, you're the one that tried to do that with your "have a good day". Seems like your insecurities are showing, sweetheart.
Radders
Radders - 9/9/2024, 8:55 AM
@BaddestOptics - I was paraphrasing - to quote your posts: "I've got no time to debunk woke being nothing more than sexless, miserable wretches screaming about a made up culture war. I also have no desire to engage with...etc" "plenty of argument, just none that you're able to engage with" -IE "you're not worth talking to"

I guess it was a good try to flip the script (I'm being kind) although a bit embarrassing that you're still going on
BaddestOptics
BaddestOptics - 9/11/2024, 9:24 PM
@Radders - you're wrong. Getting into the minutiae of a show that's been on longer than you've been a virgin to pretend you have a point is not something I'm interested in.
Radders
Radders - 9/13/2024, 8:56 AM
@BaddestOptics - still carrying on I see and still saying nowt just the lazy "you're a virgin" trope lol You need to get a new download, that one is stale
BaddestOptics
BaddestOptics - 9/15/2024, 1:15 AM
@Radders - if people are calling you an insufferable incel to the point of it becoming a trope I'd say that says a lot more about you than you think...
Radders
Radders - 9/18/2024, 9:08 AM
@BaddestOptics - Petty poor attempt at a gotcha when you have to create a straw man to do it :)
BaddestOptics
BaddestOptics - 9/21/2024, 12:07 AM
@Radders - you appear to be confused on what a strawman is, Ben Shapiro. Now say "ad hominen" as I call you a sexless halfwit.
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