‘Doctor Who’ To Materialize On Disney+ In 2023
by Erik Amaya
The Doctor will have a new partner when they return in 2023 for their 60th Anniversary: Disney+
The service, Disney Branded Television, and The BBC confirmed Tuesday that the platform will be the “exclusive” home of Doctor Who outside of the UK and Ireland starting with the 60th Anniversary special next November. Incoming star Ncuti Gatwa also revealed details of the plan on Live with Kelly and Ryan, starting the corporate synergy early.
In a statement, returning showrunner Russell T. Davies said, “I love this show, and this is the best of both worlds – with the vision and joy of the BBC and Disney+ together we can launch the TARDIS all around the planet, reaching a new generation of fans while keeping our traditional home firmly on the BBC in the UK.”
As revealed in Sunday’s “The Power of the Doctor,” the Thirteenth Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) seemingly regenerated into the likeness of David Tennant. For the moment, Davies and the BBC are calling this the Fourteenth Doctor with Gatwa to take over as the Fifteenth across a set of specials spanning the anniversary in November 2023 to, presumably, Christmas Day — a date marked by a Doctor Who special throughout Davies’s initial run on the program.
And with both Davies and Tennant returning, the BBC also unveiled another return: the Doctor Who “diamond” logo used in the main titles and merchandise from 1974-1979. It’s been spruced up for the 21st Century and looks pretty smart on the socials and the Official Doctor Who YouTube channel, but also suggests the notion that a return to greatness is ahead. Whether or not that also signals a repudiation of Whittaker and showrunner Chris Chibnall‘s time with the program is anyone’s guess.
In the meantime, though, Davies, Tennant, Gatwa, the logo, and the Disney+ deal all speak to a renewed life for the series, which is, of course, the only constant with Doctor Who.