But hasn’t it always been said that Disney won’t greenlight the next season until everything they ordered has finished airing?
So it doesn’t make sense that they would be able to film early 2025?
There’s so many conflicting stories here, we won’t know the truth until we hear it from the BBC or Disney themselves.
I might be wrong, but I think that it is something they started saying later. I don’t really know, to be honest, and none of us really do. That is why I feel like it is too easy to blame this on RTD and call it hubris. We have no idea what task BBC/Disney gave him. It might have been them who said that it needed to have a spin-off. We just don’t know what is happening behind closed doors.
Ncuti said on I think Graham Norton he’d be filming S3 before they started saying about the Disney waiting till after S2 line. It definitely was a more recent thing iirc
Disney are the ones all in on a million Star Wars spinoffs and the Marvel Universe. I could see them wanting Doctor Who to be like that…
Yep this is the problem. But streaming services often don’t renew shows until they assess its success based on previous seasons. & its why the streaming model isn’t the perfect fit for ongoing shows like Dr Who. It does seem like a lot of it is down to the assumption that the return of RTD would see a return to the viewing figures & general positive appeal the show had in his first era. Regardless of my personal opinion of RTD2, times have changed & this has not happened. I do think it was naive to assume it would.
As I’ve already said it was also bizarre to set up a s3 mystery (Susan - metioned in s1, seen in s2 & if we had the original rumoured ending seen again as a cliffhanger) when that season was not confirmed, yes the BBC may continue but when? Carole Ann Ford is 84 almos 85. S1 & 2 should have been completely self-contained.
Sadly, I have a feeling that the streaming numbers on D+ haven’t been exceptional. Which means that Disney is likely out. This is probably in part because a lot of people haven’t wanted to sign up for D+ just to watch DW and have watched the episodes elsewhere. And maybe because the marketing (at least ehre im Finland) has been nonexistent - people hsve found the show either if they knew avlut it slready ir stumbled upon it when scrolling the D+ library.
So the next thing we see is likely a completely BBC-funded thing while they look for a new streaming partner.
I really genuinely think the root of the problem is BBC execs. The situation just smells to me like Michael Grade concluding DW should either look like Star Wars or not bother at all. From that perspective, Disney would be the perfect partner as the owners of both Star Wars and Marvel.
The problem, of course, is that Doctor Who isn’t Star Wars, never has been, and has never needed to be.
It also would have made more sense for them to say “we want to do it with Disney” and then Disney saying “we want it on D+” rather than the BBC saying “we want to do it with a streamer” and Disney being the one that bit. DW is not mainstream enough here for it to be on ABC, and I can’t see it getting an audience on Freeform, which leaves D+, even if Disney weren’t actively trying to push new properties to D+.
We actually had posters in Stockholm for it before the last season, but this season has been hard to find on Disney+, even though I know what I’m looking for.
I remember seeing some posters over here as well last year but literally nada this year. I’ve only seen trailers on FB, but that’s because I already follow Doctor Who pages, so the algorithm makes them show up for me.
I read a rumour somewhere, not sure how true, that the Doccy Who deal was linked to Disney being able to continue broadcasting Bluey. The BBC have global distribution rights. You can have Bluey still if you help us out with Who.
Then I have done my part. We have streamed Bluey a lot on D+.
This might be controversial, but if we get a new streaming partner like Disney, then I hope that it becomes Apple. They have made a lot of really high-quality content in the last couple of years, and it feels like they are willing to bet a little more on stuff than the others.
Oh yeah, Apple are the HBO of the streaming era. They make exceptional shows.
(I know HBO do have a streaming service but they are doing stupid things like renaming it Max…)
And now they are going back to HBO Max…
Yeah it was such a dumb move to rename it but it’s good they are renaming it back.
Why throw away really good marketing like a world-famous name?
It’s like Twitter becoming X… 
Yes Apple seem to be making shows that look more prestige. Slow Horses I think is their stand out, it started in 2022 & they are already on season 5 (coming out in September). The fact that its based on a series of books helps I guess. But things like Silo & Foundation show how they do impressive sci-fi.
Although - Apple Streaming Losses Top $1 Billion per Year for Apple TV+: Report
If anyone can afford to treat $1 billion per year as a “loss leader” until they make up the number of subscribers, it’s Apple.
I’d like to see more episodes of Doctor Who released each season. I’d also like to see more cliffhangers. When it came back in 2005, Doctor Who was retooled from roughly 25 minute episodes to 45 minute ones, because these would be marketable to commercial stations overseas to fill a television hour, once you’d inserted commercials. In the streaming age, the length of episode isn’t as critical to fit commercial breaks and on the hour bulletins etc. The 45 minute length has caused problems with pacing (as was previously experienced when the Colin Baker era experimented with it in the 80s), and you often find it hard to squeeze a full story in, or are padding out a much lighter one. Instead of 8 x 45 minutes per season, I suggest 12 x 30 minutes, with most or all of these being two part stories. You could end up making six stories a year, but releasing over twelve weeks, which keeps the release schedule putting out content and keeping the profile of the show high, and you also get the chance to have moe cliffhangers.
Six settings instead of eight means a lower outlay on sets, costumes, guest stars for the same amount of screen time, but you’re releasing over twelve weeks. That’s got to be a win.
A rumour from Reddit:
A leaker active on the Doctor Who Leak Discord (and gb I believe) who has previously accurate about the initial Disney+ deal in 2022, claims that the BBC is currently in advanced talks with a potential new partner. This new partner is said to be on a similar scale to Disney, but the negotiations are reportedly more complex this time around. According to the source, the new partner is pushing for greater creative control (following the underwhelming outcome of the Disney deal) and a more hands on approach, believing that the show needs to “take itself more seriously” and shift its focus toward an older teenage audience - something akin to Stranger Things - based on how Doctor Who initially performed with that demographic on both Disney+ and the BBC.
However, Russell T Davies is said to strongly believe that the show’s fun, campy tone, the approach taken during the 2005 revival, is the key to its success.
The potential partner is reportedly already offering a mix of fresh and seasoned creatives (some with some really great credits) many of whom who they’ve worked with before, and are enthusiastic about the potential deal and eager to get involved in the show in any way they can, whilst ensuring that the show remains its British identity and core values. However, RTD remains extremely cautious, as he is known - particularly when it comes to Doctor Who - for being HIGHLY selective and protective about who he collaborates with and allows to write for the show - which is a good and bad thing I suppose.
At this stage, both the BBC and Bad Wolf are reportedly backing RTD’s vision (who is looking to stay on for at least 3 more seasons), but they’re also aware of the financial challenges of continuing the show without a major partner. That said, there’s apparently a contingency plan in place, which could involve a shortened season (or an annual special/specials) if necessary, and RTD is said to be thankfully very dedicated to finding a way to make sure the show survives and continues.
Honestly I’d rather it remained purely a BBC show with no partners, even if it meant shorter seasons.