Disney quietly dropped Doctor Who just three years after inking the landmark agreement to co-produce the show for Disney+ streaming. It seemed almost shocking to see the cancellation, given Disney’s excitement about the prospect at the start. However, thanks to several things on both sides of the equation, the Doctor Who streaming agreement never had the success that fans and experts believed it could. The run included the last Jodie Whittaker episodes and the entire Ncuti Gatwa run, which received poor ratings and sparked complaints about the quality of the episodes. That was all it took for Disney to pull the plug on their part of the show’s production.
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Industry insiders told Deadline that there were two big problems with the franchise that caused Disney to drop the show. One of the problems concerned Ncuti Gatwa as the new Doctor. While there were complaints about his casting at the start, the insider said the problems were actually behind the scenes. “There is more to that role than performing,” they said. “You have got to be an ambassador for the brand and embrace being that generation’s Doctor. Matt Smith and David Tennant fully understood the responsibility it carried.” The insider said that Gatwa didn’t embrace the role and didn’t do enough to promote the show.
Another problem arose with what they called the woke backlash in the United States. Another Doctor Who insider said the show was “too woke for Trump’s USA,” which helped lead to Disney’s decision. The show cast transgender actress Yasmin Finney, had a historic gay kiss between Gatwa and Jonathan Groff, and had drag queen Jinkx Monsoon as a villain. These not only turned off some American viewers, but were also criticized by BBC viewers.
The Failure of Doctor Who on Disney+ Has Several Factors
The idea of Disney+ subscribers embracing Doctor Who was always a long shot. While the show has been extremely popular for decades, it remains a niche favorite. Its fans are massive and passionate, but this is not something with the legs and firepower of Star Wars or Marvel shows. It also doesn’t help that Disney was paying around $8.5 million per episode for Doctor Who, yet viewership dropped from 5.2 million to 3.8 million per episode.
It also isn’t really fair to blame woke politics for the show’s failure, since Doctor Who has always been a show about fitting in and being different. However, it is harder to do this on a bigger level. While Disney won’t ever admit that it is part of the reason for canceling the show, it is the network that suspended Jimmy Kimmel for a joke, so it has given in to pressure when certain people feel a show disrespects their beliefs.
As for the complaints about Ncuti Gatwa, the actor said he was “getting old and my body was tired,” but the fact is that names like David Tennant and Matt Smith went out of their way to push the show, making them extremely popular former leads. If Gatwa wasn’t willing to put in the work or couldn’t for other reasons, Doctor Who needs to find someone who can.
There will be a Doctor Who Christmas special next year that will help tie up loose ends, including Billie Piper’s regeneration as the 15th Doctor. After that, the BBC will have to decide how to move forward and whether to include Russell T. Davies as the showrunner in the future. The following steps for the BBC will determine the future of Doctor Who, and these decisions will make or break the long-running sci-fi franchise.
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Image courtesy of Paramount+
