Doctor Who: Destiny Delayed

So what's up with Doctor Who?

Short answer: nobody knows nothing.

Not even those who would be charge of Doctor Who's future.

Jane Tranter, CEO of Bad Wolf, says any decision about Doctor Who's destiny with Disney+ will be delayed until 2026.   

You may recall that Russell T Davies once said that a decision on the show's future would come after the conclusion of Series 15/Season 2 (whatever you want to call it).   

The finale of that season dropped back on May 31st.

Five months later and we know nothing.

The deal between Bad Wolf, BBC Studios and Disney+ was for 26 episodes. Between 2 seasons and various specials, that accounts for 21 of them.  

The forthcoming UNIT based spin off The War Between Land and Sea will bring the count up to 26.   

According to Tranter, “Then, and only then, does Disney+ have to make a decision about whether or not they want to do more."

When pray tell will "then" be?

Sometime in 2026.  

Nothing more definitive than that.

Which begs the question, does Disney want to be in the Doctor Who business or not? 

Tranter commented,  “I imagine, at a time when Disney are having huge cuts themselves, and there have been slashes in program budgets, they’re looking to take their time to balance everything out and decide what they want to do."

Well that's all well and good that Disney may want to take their time on making a decision. 

BUT...

If Doctor Who was NOT a good fit for Disney+, it seems to me they would want to rid themselves of this albratross sooner rather than later.  The UNIT mini-series is done and in the can, ready to go.  Burn it off and be done with Doctor Who already.

BUT...

If Doctor Who was a good deal with Disney+, then it seems to me that Disney would want to get some new content in the pipeline. If Disney+ says "YAY! We want more Doctor Who!" next year, they're not going to get more Doctor Who for a very long time.  If they go ahead and say "yes" now, there's a chance they may at least get a Doctor Who Christmas special for 2026 with a new season for 2027. 

Never mind screwing over Bad Wolf and the BBC (and all us Whovians)! Disney's delay does not seem like a good business decision for Disney whether the answer is YES or NO.  

Julie Tranter still seems confident in the future of Doctor Who, that it will continue on the BBC no matter what Disney decides, that it's a question not of IF but of HOW and WHEN.  

“At its heart, it’s a BBC show and it will keep going, one way or another”.

Well, that's nice.

But to sum up today's post: nobody knows nothing.