Yeah, the thing to watch now is the BBC opportunities page where their public tenders are announced. Until production of future Doctor Who seasons show up there, interested parties can’t even pitch or submit a preliminary budget. And only then do we have a ballpark idea of the timeframe — assuming it goes like a recent tender for the hospital drama Casualty.
I believe it’s a projection from the latter that has given the guesstimate that Who could be back on screen in 2028 at the earliest? I’m not sure that production will be quite as fast considering the amount of visual effects required for Doctor Who, but I’m optimistic 🙂
Watch Netflix pick it up. I can’t understand how Dr Who isn’t profitable (enough) for the BBC to pump out yearly series. The TARDIS used to print money when Eccleston, Tennant, and Smith flew the blue box. It’s been pretty bad since.
If it were up to me, I’d give the role to norespawns. British guy. YouTuber, mainly does Fallout videos. Very distinct look. But I’d probably run it into the ground. I’d get the guy who does Black Mirror to write the episodes. Maybe bring Jordan Peele in. American, I think, but I like his style.
Charlie Brooker was asked at some point and couldn’t do it, but he seems somewhat open to the idea:
" I was sort of asked about Doctor Who once. I wasn’t asked to run it, I was asked to write for it, and it felt a bit like the Home Office asking you to do something – like it was my national duty…"
“But I just didn’t have time because I was busy.”
“So, if a big behemoth like Star Trek asked me to write for them, you’d at least take that call, wouldn’t you? You’d consider it. But with doing Black Mirror, you’ve got control; and when you wander into somebody else’s show, you’re trying to please them.”
Quentin Tarantino had/has a Star Trek script. Anything’s possible.
Quentin Tarantino had/has a Star Trek script. Anything’s possible.
The way Netflix cancels shows at the tip of a hat, their involvement would be anything but “ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come”… Netflix has a big reach, that’s for sure. I just doubt their commitment beyond the next fiscal quarter report.
As for people involved,
- Random youtuber with no TV drama experience — that’ll be a no from me. I know a handful of those have taken the step to directing movies in the past years, but there’s a long stretch from Fallout commentary to taking the reins of a (faltering) classic science fiction show.
- Charlie Brooker (“the guy who does Black Mirror”) — not very likely, he has his own, fairly weighty show to maintain.
- Jordan Peele — this is a man doing multimillion dollar Hollywood movies. I highly doubt he would be a realistic candidate, but if he did join as showrunner or producer, against all odds? I bet some external investor purse strings would loosen right there. Then again, counterpoint: he has worked almost exclusively in the horror genre for the past decade.
I was kinda taking the piss with those names and references.
Netflix does cancel series a lot, but not the super profitable ones.
Sorry, humour doesn’t always translate in text only 🙂
I don’t think a licensed show like Doctor Who would count as super profitable compared to IP like Stranger things that they [edit: Netflix] own wholly? They’re pretty secretive about the factors behind their programming choices, so I dunno.
I think they really decide based on churn. What brings viewers in. So the question is, would Dr Who bring new subscribers into Netflix, or is that audience already there? If they’re already there, that means they wouldn’t get enough new subscribers. The thing is, people generally don’t leave Netflix. I haven’t willingly watched Netflix in a few years, but we still have it because my wife uses it. She watches a lot of true crime/documentaries. So, they are getting our money, but if it were up to me, I wouldn’t pay them a dime.
If we weren’t subscribers, I’m honestly not sure if Dr Who would bring us in. It would have to be really good. It captured our imaginations in the Nine, Ten, and Eleven years, but while Twelve and Thirteen were well acted, the story seemed to fall flat and it just wasn’t interesting anymore. We like what they did — older Doctor, woman Doctor, Doctor of colour, LGBTQ+ Dcotor, all those things are well and good, but the stories just weren’t engaging like they were before. We stuck with it because we love the brand and we loved what it was, but it was too little too seldomly, like a few episodes every couple years or more. Eventually we were just like “oh Dr Who’s back, you in? Nah? Yeah me either, let’s watch whatever else instead.” So it would have to really do something special to bring us back, maybe others as well, I dunno.
I think they really decide based on churn. What brings viewers in.
Could well be their MO. The last big streamers have the market pretty well divvied up between them, and they may just be fighting over the viewers that are still on the fence? Like you say, your household still subscribe.
But let’s say the BBC got smart and offered up all of Doctor Who, from 1963 to now. Boom, 41 seasons plus a couple years’ specials available on one platform*. Especially now that the audience has to wait a few years for new material, wouldn’t that be enough to attract Netflix — activating a few dormant subscriptions, pulling in the fanbase, including new viewers who need to see what the fuzz is about?
That’s very much fantasy football, of course, but if the issue for the BBC is to generate interest in the show, among viewers and streaming partners, making the whole of it available in one place seems the way to go.
* Let’s ignore for now what a legal headache it would be clearing all those classic serial rights from writers’ estates. Also, that nuWho series 1-13 is now with AMC+ in North America, and the two most recent seasons are still on Disney+.
At least the best of Dr Who (or nuWho) is on Blu-ray and DVD. Since I really only care about Nine, Ten, and Eleven, I can just collect those episodes on disc and just have them.
While I don’t much like the “nu” prefix (I know it means “new” but I feel like it’s a bit derogatory; we saw this 25 years ago with “nu-metal”), I guess it’s accurate. Pre-Nine (or Eight, since he was just in the TV movie), or Classic Who, is kind of a different product. I ask my mother and other Boomers about Dr Who, and they say it’s a silly programme they could never get into, but they like modern drama/action stuff, and I try to recommend Dr Who (or nuWho if you prefer that term) and they won’t even give it a chance. Like, “just watch Blink,” it’s a Doctor-lite episode and has excellent tension and scares, or something like Midnight (another Ten story) or my personal favourite, The Girl in the Fireplace. Dr Who/nuWho isn’t all at the level of those three, but enough of it is that it keeps you watching.
I just wish they took Torchwood a bit more seriously. R-rated Whoniverse stuff was awesome, but it didn’t do much. The first two series were spectacular, if a bit cheesy. Third and fourth, a bit less so. Then Barrowman went and got himself canceled and now he’s past his prime. But his Harkness character was at his best alongside Ten. Of course, those looking for more David Tennant can just watch Broadchurch… or Good Omens.
americans would ruin doctor who like they ruin everything else
Were Americans involved with Smith’s series that was set there or was it just set there?
The Disney series was not good. I only watched the first Disney series, not the second one.
