With Doctor Who shelved as the BBC seeks a new production partner, all eyes are on what the show's future looks like. Ratings have been on the decline for years, and Russell T Davies' second revival was a disaster that very nearly ended the long-running sci-fi series for good.
A deal with Disney+ was supposed to bring the Whoniverse to a global audience. However, Davies' vision for the franchise was not what anyone seemed to want (he upset fans by making sweeping changes to the lore, and several episodes got very political). With that, the streamer quickly ended its deal with the British broadcaster, and Doctor Who has since been put out to "tender."
Now, a report from The Times (via SFFGazette.com) reveals that producer and director Dean Devlin's company Electric Entertainment is in talks with the BBC about putting a new spin on Doctor Who.
Devlin produced and co-wrote blockbusters like Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla. Those were all commercial hits, but not necessarily critical ones, and whether Doctor Who would benefit from a "blockbuster" approach is debatable. On the TV side, Electric Entertainment has produced Leverage, Almost Paradise, The Ark, and The Librarians.
Here's where things get really interesting. David Tennant has reportedly been approached to return as the Time Lord, though the extent of his involvement isn't clear.
During Davies' latest stint in the TARDIS, a "bi-generation" saw the Doctor split in two. Tennant is currently on Earth—with his TARDIS—while Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor went into the cosmos and regenerated into Billie Piper. Ignoring the latter to focus on the former could be the fresh start that Doctor Who needs.
During a recent interview with WHO Corner to Corner, former Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall, who was in charge of the series when Jodie Whittaker was the Doctor, shared his thoughts on the show's status quo.
"It’s very hard for the BBC to fund their programs right now because of what’s been done to them in terms of funding agreements over the past 15 years and the slow whittling away of that, and the increase in big Hollywood monoliths and conglomerates really taking over the market," he explained. "And, really, what you’ve got is the BBC can’t afford to fully fund any drama now, and it certainly can’t afford to fund Doctor Who."
"Any discussion around it is about money more than anything else, and I think that that’s been missed a little in the discourse that I saw around the show," Chibnall continued. "[It's] very easy to miss the point that this is primarily about money. There’s all kinds of other things, and obviously it’s hugely disappointing and hasn’t been handled brilliantly."
"But really, the big story is, look, this is a BBC that cannot afford to make shows that it wants to make. The BBC wants to make Doctor Who. Don’t be in any doubt about that," he concluded.
Stay tuned for updates on Doctor Who's future as we have them.