Disney Plus Will Be New Streaming Home of ‘Doctor Who’
It’s a big week for Doctor Who fans. Days after the surprising return of David Tennant as the Tenth (or is that Fourteenth?) Doctor (uh, spoilers, whoops), the show’s producers have announced a partnership with Disney+ that will make the streaming service “the exclusive home for new seasons of Doctor Who outside the U.K. and Ireland.” (In the U.K. and Ireland, the show will continue to be found on the BBC.)
Here was Doctor Who producer Russell T Davies’ comment on the news:
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.
David Tennant’s sudden and shocking return to the franchise came at the tail end of the final 2022 Doctor Who special, which was the last appearance of the Thirteenth iteration of the Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker. The transition from one actor to another in the title role on Doctor Who is done through the process of “regeneration.” Whenever the Doctor character is near death he (or she) “regenerates” into a new body that looks conspicuously like whatever new actor (or actress) has been cast in the role moving forward.
In the past, the new Doctor was always a new actor, and the series had already announced Whittaker’s replacement, Ncuti Gatwa. But when Whittaker’s Doctor regenerated, she instead transformed into David Tennant, who previously played the Tenth Doctor.
Tennant’s version of the character will star in a series of 60th anniversary Doctor Who specials in 2023. After that, Gatwa will take over as the Fifteenth Doctor. (After 60 years, these things can get pretty confusing.(
The new Doctor Who episodes with Tennant and then Gatwa will premiere on BBC and Disney+ starting in late 2023.
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