You have probably been reading in the newspapers or on-line that Doctor Who is facing one of its periodic "Cancellation Crises". This originated with tabloid The Sun, which is hardly the most reliable of sources. It was picked up today by other sections of the press - reported simply as rumour in the quality ones, whilst the Daily Mail went further and gave all its perceived reasons for the potential resting of the series (woke casting / woke storylines / woke agenda).
Such is the buzz that the BBC has released a statement that the series is "not being shelved". They point out that Disney commissioned 26 episodes, with nearly half still to air.
RTD2 himself claims that he was tasked with making the programme "younger and simpler" - no arguments from me on that one, I'm afraid, if Space Babies is anything to go by. He admits that the ratings are disappointing, but then says that the under 16 and 16 - 34 demographics are good.
(For me, any increase in younger viewers shouldn't mean losing older ones. I'm pretty sure the BBC did intend RTD2 to increase some demographics - but never at the expense of the rest).
These statements haven't soothed matters as the BBC also reiterate that any sixteenth series is wholly dependent on how well Series 15 does, and Disney won't be committing any monies until then (meaning certainly no new series in 2025, and no guarantee of another festive special either).
Those 26 episodes are already accounted for - 3x 60th Anniversary Specials, 2x Christmas Specials, 8x Series 14 episodes, 8x Series 15 episodes, plus the War Between Land & Sea spin-off. A lot of people think the latter might be run across a single week, like TW: Children of Earth, so that would account for the final 5 of the 26 episodes.
Muddying the water is talk of Gatwa wanting to leave because he (a) had to turn down a lucrative fragrance contract and / or (b) wants to move to LA to pursue a Hollywood career. No doubt the move is true, but there's no reason why you can't balance both a British TV show, which now only runs 8 weeks, and the odd movie.
Disney are notoriously bad at letting people know the viewing figures for their productions. We know that they have been suffering badly with the various Star Wars series, which ought to have been guaranteed winners. The Acolyte isn't being renewed and, whilst it has been critically acclaimed, Skeleton Crew has failed to make a dent in the Nielsen ratings. Both Andor and Ahsoka are getting one further season each, but these are supposed to be their final outings. The Marvel movies are also showing diminishing returns, so there's a definite superhero-fatigue setting in. Basically, Disney are getting hit financially, and if they're pulling the plug on big names which they pretty much own outright, then what hope for co-productions - especially one that isn't getting high viewing figures?
Apparently there was zero representation from Disney at the recent big Gallifrey One convention, and they didn't mention Doctor Who at all in their "Coming in 2025" trailers at New Year. Hardly confidence inspiring.
As I've said before, for Disney+ the bottom line is subscribers to their streaming service. If Doctor Who isn't adding new subscribers, or retaining existing ones after a series has ended, then they are unlikely to invest further.
Even if a sixteenth series is greenlit come May or thereabouts, we're probably going to have to get used to this on-going uncertainty year by year.
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