Doctor Who might be cancelled after its second season because not enough people are watching it.
Disney+ and the BBC teamed up to bring the show back with a bigger budget, but they are not seeing the results they hoped for.
A report from Deadline says that ‘Doctor Who’s future is uncertain because the viewership numbers are low. Some sources close to the production believe the show might not continue beyond its initial two seasons. There is even talk that the deal between the BBC and Disney+ may end after season 2.
This could mean the show will either be canceled or go back to being a lower-budget show for mainly UK viewers.
Things Didn’t Go As Planned
The show returned earlier this year with Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson as the new leads. Russell T Davies, who successfully revived the show in 2005, was back as the showrunner. The BBC and Disney+ wanted to reach a larger audience with this new version of ‘Doctor Who.’
Disney had some say in the creative direction of the new series, including themes and casting choices that some people believe hurt the viewership. One of the episodes is praised for tackling racism, but overall viewer response is mixed.
Ratings Aren’t Satisfying
‘Doctor Who’ did reach seventh place on Disney+’s list of most in-demand series in the U.S., but given the high budget and expensive marketing, the viewership in the U.S. is ‘underwhelming.’
The show has more viewers in the U.K., but the situation is not much better. It is down by an average of 1.5 million viewers per episode compared to Jodie Whittaker’s time as the Doctor.
The BBC is happy with the streaming numbers on its iPlayer. It has at least 65 million streams in 2024. However, TV ratings are still a problem. A source reported that the numbers are still lower than the previous specials and the Jodie Whittaker series although young viewers are watching.
Disney is expected to make a decision about the show’s future after the spin-off ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ finishes. The season 2 finale was possibly filmed to allow Ncuti Gatwa to leave the series.
