Disney Ends Partnership with BBC’s Doctor Who

In a surprising turn of events, Disney has decided to end its collaboration with the BBC on Doctor Who. Who would have thought that changing the lead character to a gay, disco-loving crossdresser and adding a heavy dose of trans themes would cause such a stir? I mean, the series has taken a lot of creative leaps, but the backlash seems extreme.

According to recent reports, viewership for Doctor Who has seen a significant drop. The latest season averaged just 3.8 million viewers, which is a million less than the previous season. I guess that’s a pretty stark contrast to Jodie Whittaker’s last season in 2021, which still claimed a modest 5.2 million views. A series official has even noted that the ratings were disappointing.

The intention had been to globalize Doctor Who, with plans to distribute it on Disney+ and vastly increase its production budget—aiming for around $8 to $10 million per episode. Apparently, Disney invested about $168 million overall, but the outcome was a noticeable decline in ratings and a grumpy response from its dedicated fanbase.

It’s a bit baffling. Doctor Who has this quirky charm; I mean, it’s celebrated for letting viewers explore different worlds with a Time Lord. There’s something comforting about that imaginative aspect, right? Before Disney’s involvement, the show had already begun to lose its viewers, and bringing in their branding didn’t seem to help. At the end of the day, the ratings hit an all-time low for a show that’s been around for decades.

The solution seems simple enough: maybe we should stop letting people who clearly dislike the essence of beloved franchises take charge of them.

But it appears Disney is stuck in a loop, seemingly wanting to reshape things that many fans cherish.

This pattern has yielded nothing but failures, yet it appears they’re not deterred.