“The streamers are heading for a South Sea bubble.”
That is the verdict of Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies, whose long-running BBC series was given a mega cash injection from Disney in 2022.
Pondering the future of the industry on the BBC’s Today, Davies said he “kind of hopes it does pop” in reference to the streaming revolution, which has experienced serious teething problems since Disney invested in Doctor Who.
Davies, who has mostly created shows for British broadcasters, longed for the industry to “go back to making 8 p.m. dramas about lawyers or health centers, or shows that teach people how to make television.”
“There are too many streamers, too much money and not everyone is watching so it can’t be financially viable,” he said.
Although Doctor Who is now made with U.S. money, he reiterated previous remarks that the sci-fi smash is still not as lavishly invested in as rival American shows. For a recent scene in the currently-filming Doctor Who season, Davies said he demanded 200 extras for the first time in his career, only to turn on the first episode of The Day of the Jackal and see that, in his mind, there were 500 extras. “I just think, ‘How do you keep up with this?’,” said Davies.
While Davies stressed that he wanted Doctor Who to “look like Stranger Things,” hence the attraction of the Disney money, he said it “would have found a different shape, a different form,” had the Mouse House not jumped aboard. As we revealed recently, the future of the BBC-Disney deal hangs in the balance and Davies said no decision has yet been made over Season 3 of the regenerated version, which stars Ncuti Gatwa as the 14th Doctor.
He was speaking a day after the Christmas special trailer was unveiled, which features Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan as she and Gatwa take on dinosaurs after opening a secret doorway to a time hotel. Davies’ long-time collaborator Steven Moffat has written the episode.
“I was once told by a magazine editor that if there is snow in it we will print the pictures so [making it Christmas-y] is quite obviously a marketing technique but it is Christmas and it’s what you want,” said Davies on the Christmas-y slant. “It’s a picture book Christmas and I think Doctor Who is at its best when it does that.”
