With “Doctor Who” over for now, it seems that any chance of a resurrection of the franchise could be longer off than expected.
At present, the deal between Disney+ and British broadcaster The BBC still holds and likely to remain in place through “The War Between the Land and the Sea” event series airing sometime later this year.
Once that’s complete, it’s expected Disney will end it’s deal – freeing up “Doctor Who” to go elsewhere. Now, former ‘Doctor Who Magazine’ editor Tom Spilsbury indicates on Reddit (via SFF Gazette) that he’s received insights from people working on the series as to what happens next and has shared his take.
“My guess – and it is just a guess – is that it will be five or six years before we see anything new. At which point, it will be the children of 2005 who will be bringing the show back, just as Russell predicted. As ever, time will tell.
I suspect the show will indeed come back at some point, but as of right now, nothing is commissioned and nothing is guaranteed. Those are the facts. Time will tell, of course, but I don’t get the sense of much optimism for anything very soon from anyone l’ve spoken to…
Everything is moving much more slowly in television at the moment. On the assumption that Disney doesn’t renew before its option officially expires, that will be the point when the BBC can start to shop the show around. And that process could take a fair bit of time – it may require more than one partner just to raise the money needed.
Potential partners who may have some very specific requirements or stipulations. They may need to go back to people whom they turned down last time. Yes, the BBC could go for the ultra-cheap in-house version of the show, but I really don’t think that’s as viable an option as it used to be – the licence fee simply hasn’t kept up with inflation over the past few years.”
This follows on from reports two weeks ago. The suggested both Netflix and HBO Max are curious about potentially buying streaming rights for the series.
