- 23 hours ago
The future of Doctor Who and Disney has FINALLY, OFFICIALLY been confirmed! Some things are as expected... and others, not so much. Here's Ellie with the latest!
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00:00Hello everybody, Ellie here for Who Culture, and we finally have some news with regards to the future of Doctor Who.
00:07So I think let's start with the one that maybe is the least surprising, the least shocking.
00:12I don't know if anybody went, really, when they saw this, which is, of course, that Disney Plus are not going ahead with another deal with Doctor Who, with the BBC.
00:22Are any of us surprised? Was anyone surprised? Really? Don't lie. No, you weren't.
00:27We've been saying this for months, it feels like, years, it feels like, you know, we've been saying this right from when season two ended, we were fairly certain that Disney were not going ahead.
00:37But we now have confirmation, Disney, after the war between the land and the sea, are done with Doctor Who.
00:43So this is the full statement from the BBC, it says,
00:46Lindsay Salt, director of drama BBC, said,
01:03We'd like to thank Disney Plus for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea.
01:11The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T. Davis has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026.
01:23Okay, so first of all, Christmas special 2026.
01:27Hold that thought, because I'm going to come back to that, but let's just focus on the Disney side for just a second.
01:33Obviously, as I said, no one's really surprised by this, but it does raise a few questions.
01:38It does raise the question of where will Doctor Who be distributed internationally in the future now?
01:45This Christmas special coming next year, where will that be available for international viewers?
01:49You would imagine there's going to be another streamer, so then the question is, when are we going to find out who the next streamer will be?
01:56Because surely they are going to have to make a deal with another streamer of sorts.
02:01As much as, you know, I'm saying just go back to the BBC and Bad Wolf, in terms of international viewers, you've opened those floodgates now, and you can't now go back on that.
02:11So the question now is, where will international viewers be watching Doctor Who in the future?
02:16That's question one.
02:16Question two is, what will happen to the Disney-era episodes of Doctor Who, the 60th anniversary specials, season one and two, that are part of the Disney deal and are, at the moment, exclusively on Disney Plus in the US and around the world?
02:35The question then is, what happens to them?
02:39Do they remain on Disney?
02:40Will they be moved to whatever the next streamer is?
02:44Or, you know, will Disney still host them but have no financial input with the show?
02:51What happens there?
02:52Now, at some point, the Disney deal, the current Disney deal, will come to an end.
02:57And at that point, I guess they can remove it, sell it.
03:01I don't know the ins and outs of what's going to happen there.
03:03But there is a kind of question lingering about those three, well, two and a half seasons and what the future holds for them.
03:11Now, obviously, the BBC does have stakes in those as well.
03:14So in my mind, when the BBC looks for another streamer, and, you know, we know that deals have come to an end recently with regards to the rest of the modern era of Doctor Who.
03:27So I don't think that they haven't thought about what's going to happen with those episodes, those seasons.
03:35In my mind, they'll be moving to whatever the next streamer will be.
03:37But it is a question.
03:38It all depends, I guess, on whether things ended amicably with Disney or whether things didn't.
03:45Now, as you guys all know, I've spoken about this plenty of times.
03:47I'm not mad about Disney leaving.
03:49I don't feel that Doctor Who needed that giant Disney budget.
03:55I think from a distributor point of view, in terms of international viewers, it was a good idea.
03:59It was a good place for it to stream globally.
04:02But I think beyond that, Disney had so much control and input in the actual creation of Doctor Who, and it made it become this multi-million dollar franchise.
04:13I'm paraphrasing.
04:14I don't actually know what the money looks like.
04:15But it felt like all of a sudden there was so much money thrown at Doctor Who, and it kind of stripped away for me what the core elements of Doctor Who are.
04:23So for it to go back to just the BBC and Bad Wolf Studios, at least for the Christmas special next year, that is totally fine by me.
04:31And I think the show actually would benefit from scaling back again.
04:36So for me, Disney saying goodbye.
04:40Bye bye.
04:41I don't really mind about that.
04:43We tried it, we saw what it could be, but I think fundamentally Doctor Who doesn't need someone like Disney.
04:50Streaming-wise, distribution-wise, it does need something, but that's a different conversation.
04:56And I hope that the BBC and the creatives of Doctor Who have learnt maybe from this experience, and when they go into making deals with other streamers, they think about exactly what it is they're agreeing to when making these deals.
05:08So, let's talk about the Christmas special.
05:11Now, just to clarify, that is not a Christmas special this year.
05:15No 2025 Christmas special.
05:172026.
05:18So, just over a year.
05:20Well, yeah, just over a year.
05:22We'll go with that.
05:22Some people might be like, it's not nearly Christmas, but come on.
05:25In the grand scheme of the year, it's nearly Christmas.
05:282026 Christmas special, written by Russell T. Davis.
05:32So, we know, at least until the Christmas special next year, Russell T. Davis is sticking around.
05:38Could this be his last hurrah?
05:40Could this be his final input for RTD2 before he steps down and walks away?
05:46There's no mention of him staying beyond the Christmas special in this press release, which isn't to say that he's not going to, but it's interesting that they've highlighted that he will be here for that Christmas special, but then kind of made a point of saying they're going to continue having discussions about the future of the show beyond that.
06:04And if you think about the initial announcement of when Russell came back as showrunner, they kind of stated he'd be there for the 60th anniversary and seasons beyond, series beyond.
06:14So, it's interesting they haven't said that here.
06:17In terms of the plot for this Christmas special, the fact that it's written by Russell T. Davis, I think, is a good thing in as much as things have been set up.
06:26There are threads hanging that need to be tied off before he even thinks about walking away.
06:32So, I think, if this is the last hurrah for Russell T. Davis, then it will be good for him to tie up at least the Billy Piper situation.
06:41I think what will happen is the Christmas special will tie up Billy Piper.
06:46I think she will be in one episode, the Christmas special, and that will be it.
06:51And to be perfectly honest with you, I think that is the best way of doing it.
06:54My thoughts on this have been quite consistent throughout.
06:58You will probably be well aware of this by this point, but I kind of felt like maybe a few specials in a similar vein to the 60th anniversary for Billy Piper, whether she's the doctor or something else, would be okay.
07:11But beyond that, I think that would be too much to go into a full series, a full season with Billy Piper as the doctor.
07:17But a Christmas special where we can tie that all up, answer the big lingering questions, and start fresh with whatever the future then is going to be, I think would be a really good idea.
07:29Now, speaking of the next series, it has been confirmed that they are having discussions.
07:33There is going to be more Doctor Who beyond that Christmas special.
07:35We have no release window as of yet.
07:38My assumption would be probably 2027 at some point.
07:43Now that we know at least that Disney are not going ahead, obviously the question still being whether they're going to find another streamer and how much involvement that streamer is going to have.
07:52But for all intents and purposes, things can get going now.
07:56Filming can start happening.
07:58Presumably filming for this Christmas special will begin maybe beginning of next year.
08:02So once that's done, they could be, in theory, announcing who the next Doctor is going to be at some point next year, maybe midway through next year.
08:11My brain is saying Christmas special ties up everything that Russell T. Davis has set up, ties up Billy Piper and that mystery, ready for the next series, whatever that might be, whether it's season three, whether we're doing another reset of the numbering.
08:25Let's not even go down that road at the moment, but I think that will be setting up something fresh with a new Doctor and a new vision.
08:31So at the moment, that does then look like we have quite a long wait for any more Doctor Who.
08:36No Christmas special this year, but we do still have The War Between the Land and the Sea.
08:41And of course, don't forget about the CBeebies project that's coming soon.
08:45So more from this press release regarding those two shows.
08:47It said,
08:48So actually, maybe we will have something around Christmas this year because this is saying The War Between the Land and the Sea is coming this year.
09:12Now, if you'll remember, a few months ago, we actually released a video because someone at the BBC had suggested that The War Between the Land and the Sea wasn't coming until 2026.
09:24But stick with me here because I still stick by my original theory for this.
09:28I think what's going to happen is it's both are true because I think this spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, is still going to fill that festive slot.
09:38But rather than be a Christmas special, I think it's going to fold over into New Year and air across five consecutive days over New Year.
09:49So technically, it will release right at the very end of this year and the very beginning of next year.
09:56That's my theory. I'm sticking with it.
09:58Part of me does feel like now that we know there's a Christmas special coming next year,
10:02will they hold out and push The War Between the Land and the Sea further into 2026 to try and fill this gap a little bit more?
10:11But part of me also feels like it would be silly not to fill the festive gap if you can.
10:16Doctor Who at Christmas is quintessential Britishness.
10:21We've spoken about that lots before.
10:22If we don't have a Doctor Who Christmas special, if they can put the spin-off there, then I think that would be a good idea.
10:29So yeah, that's my theory.
10:30We're still going to get it technically this year and next by it going over New Year.
10:34The question also with regards to The War Between the Land and the Sea.
10:37Presumably, this press release does still state that obviously Disney was involved, is involved with The War Between the Land and the Sea.
10:46But there's no indication in this press release about The War Between the Land and the Sea releasing on Disney+.
10:51It specifically says on BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year, but there's no mention of Disney there at all.
10:57Presumably, this spin-off is going to be released on Disney+, because it was part of that initial Disney deal.
11:04But interesting that they haven't chosen to announce that here, which maybe lends credit to another theory that has been floating around the internet,
11:12that it's not going to release on Disney at the same time as the BBC.
11:17There was a rumour floating around that it was going to drop this year, later this year on BBC, but not until 2026 on Disney+.
11:27Now that, I don't know if that's true or not.
11:30That is, pinch of salt, just a rumour I've seen floating around.
11:34But it is interesting that Disney hasn't been mentioned with regards to the release of The War Between the Land and the Sea in this particular press release.
11:40So maybe there is truth to that rumour.
11:42Who knows?
11:43And then, of course, yes, we still have the CBeebies show coming as well.
11:46Now, we don't really have much information about that at the moment, so there's not really much more we can say on that.
11:52We have no idea in terms of a time frame or a window for when that will be coming.
11:58We know it is currently in development, so we do know, at least from today, that it is still happening.
12:06Because quite often, you know, plans are spoken about, ideas are had, and then they fall through.
12:11So it's nice to know that that is still happening as well.
12:14So it does look like we are getting back onto some sort of straight track here.
12:19We've been all around on a roller coaster.
12:22Nobody's really been sure what's going on.
12:24But it's nice to know that we have a clear direction for where the show is going at the moment.
12:30As I said right at the beginning, no one's really shocked to hear that Disney aren't sticking around.
12:35But it's nice to have actual confirmation of that rather than just the countless videos of speculation we've been doing.
12:40It will be interesting to find out where we're going to go with regards to international distribution moving forwards and what's going to happen there.
12:48Whether that will involve more creative input or whether they've learnt from that and they're going to kind of reword those contracts a little bit.
12:56And a Christmas special next year.
12:58So if nothing else, we can at least be excited knowing there is going to be a Christmas special in 2026.
13:05Even if there isn't one this year.
13:07Which there still might be in the form of the war between the land and the sea.
13:10But it's honestly just so nice to have some concrete things to talk about and not just speculation after speculation.
13:16It's wonderful.
13:17We are back baby.
13:19We are heading in the right direction.
13:21Let me know your thoughts on all of this in the comments down below.
13:25What do you think the 2026 Christmas special is going to look like?
13:30Written by Russell T Davies.
13:31Just a BBC and Bad Wolf Studios production.
13:34I quite honestly am very excited about that prospect.
13:38About it not having Disney dollars.
13:39About it not having this massive production to it.
13:43And hopefully seeing it go back to its roots.
13:46That's what I'm most hopeful for with this Christmas special.
13:50But let me know your thoughts in the comments down below.
13:52In the meantime, I've been Ellie for Who Culture.
13:54And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
13:57And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
13:59And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:00And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:01And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:02And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:03And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:04And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:05And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:06And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:07And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:08And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:09And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:10And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
14:11And in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye sweeties.
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