The modern incarnation of Doctor Who has been running since 2005. That's 20 years of whimsical, very British adventures through space and time. And the series can trace its roots all the way back to 1963, meaning the show has been on for over 70 years, with some notable breaks in there; Doctor Who was pretty much off the air between 1989 and 2005, with only a TV movie to keep things going in between.
It's possible we're heading towards another break. Ratings for the most recent season — which stars Ncuti Gatwa as the titular Time Lord — have been below the expectations of Disney, which partnered with the BBC to produce the newest episodes. Disney gave the show a big cash infusion, and they want to see results.
A new season of Doctor Who once again starring Gatwa will air later this year, but there are rumors now swirling that it will mark his final outing as the lead character. At least that's what an unnamed "source" told The Sun: “Ncuti doesn’t want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects standing by for him," said this mystery person. “His team also see a lot of fan backlash from the series, and don’t want the perception of him still being The Doctor to get in the way of any future work."
"The show has been poorly managed in recent years and there’s a lot of people who’ve been working on this show for years and now being cast aside due to poor leadership."
At the moment, the showruner on Doctor Who is Russell T Davies, the same guy who rebooted the show to much success back in 2005. Steven Moffat, who presided over another successful period of the series, is on board as a writer.
A spokesperson for the show responded to the rumor: “Doctor Who has not been shelved. As we have previously stated, the decision on season 3 will be made after season 2 airs. The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes – and exactly half of those still have to transmit.”
If Gatwa does exit after the upcoming second season, he wouldn't be the actor with the shortest tenure in the role; that honor still goes to Christopher Eccleston, who lasted for one season before leaving and making way for David Tennant, who remains one of the most iconic Doctors of the modern era.
I don't know if Doctor Who as we know it is going to end after this next season, but there does seem to be a generalized drop-off in interest. If Doctor Who enters hibernation again, I'll likely chock it up to the show simply having been around too long; how do you keep something going for 20 straight years without it losing a bit of its freshness? We'll see what happens when the new season arrives, probably this spring.
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