In recet weeks, the British tabloids have been having a field day reporting that Doctor Who's time is very nearly up. Today, Deadline—via SFFGazette.com—has lent those stories some credibility by taking a closer look at the ratings for season 2/season 15 (which aired its penultimate episode yesterday).
The consensus at the moment seems to be that the long-running sci-fi series will be shelved for an undetermined amount of time as the BBC figures out where to go next.
A big-money deal with Disney+ was meant to bring Doctor Who to a global audience, with Russell T Davies considered a safe pair of hands to put the franchise in after he successfully relaunched the show in the mid-2000s with actors like Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Billie Piper.
However, his "woke" storylines have drawn widespread criticisms, with even longtime fans feeling that Doctor Who has become too heavy-handed and preachy with its messaging. Ncuti Gatwa, meanwhile, has supposedly been axed from the series (the BBC responded to those claims by calling it "pure fiction"). International audiences also don't appear to have responded to the show.
This newest report has analysed the seven-day viewing figures for the first half of Gatwa's second year in the TARDIS, and they don't make for pleasant reading if you're a BBC exec.
"The first four episodes have averaged 3.1M viewers, which was 800,000 viewers down from last year’s season, which was Gatwa's first as the Doctor," the trade explains. "Compare the first half of Season 15 to Jodie Whittaker’s last outing as the Doctor, and things get uglier. Season 13 was watched by 5M people over its first four episodes in 2021, two million more viewers than the show is currently managing."
"Broadcasters and streamers prefer to use 28-day figures, which provide a more conclusive picture. Nonetheless, seven-day viewing is usually directional and the pattern of decline will likely be reflected in Doctor Who's final ratings," it adds.
While Davies has confirmed that scripts have already been written for season 3/season 16, he's also acknowledged that, while "there might be a pause" in the story, "no good idea ever dies." Some of the tabloids have said two more seasons have been planned by Davies, so we'll see if they come to fruition.
Either way, we expect a new Doctor to be in the TARDIS after next Saturday's finale as Gatwa looks to continue his Hollywood career after starring in Sex Education and Barbie.
A BBC spokesperson said, "As we have previously stated, the decision on Season [16] will be made after Season [15] airs and any other claims are just pure speculation. The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes – and we still have an entire spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, to air. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines."
Stay tuned for updates on Doctor Who as we have them.