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.