Disney+ saying goodbye to ‘Doctor Who’
Disney+ saying goodbye to ‘Doctor Who’
The streaming service is no longer partnering with the BBC to distribute the show, but it will return regardless.
Disney+ is home to one major sci-fi franchise in Star Wars, and apparently, there wasn’t room on the streamer for another. On Tuesday, BBC confirmed that its partnership with Disney’s flagship streamer to distribute the beloved series “Doctor Who” is ending, but that the series would continue despite the end of that arrangement.
Key Details:
- Off to a new universe: “Doctor Who” will no longer send any new episodes to Disney+.
- New special coming: Another “Doctor Who” special is planned for Christmas 2026.
- Troubled waters: Poor ratings and burnt-out stars led to Disney’s decision to end its deal to distribute the show.
Per Tuesday’s announcement, “Doctor Who” will no longer stream on Disney+ in the future. The streamer will still get the new miniseries “The War Between the Land and the Sea,” which is set in the Whoniverse, but that title will be the last related to “Doctor Who” to arrive on the platform.
Despite the ending of the relationship between the two, “Doctor Who” will live on. BBC director of drama Lindsay Salt confirmed in a statement that the T.A.R.D.I.S. will fly through space and time again in roughly 14 months.
“We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea,’” Salt said. “The BBC remains fully committed to ‘Doctor Who,’ which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026. We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”
Reporting from Deadline sheds more light on why Disney decided to exit its “Doctor Who” deal. The show’s performance on Disney+ left the company lukewarm to a new season, and the next batch of episodes did not show any kind of improvement in the ratings. Ncuti Gatwa, the actor portraying the 15th Doctor, has also exited the show, citing burnout as the reason behind his decision.
Are you a “Doctor Who” fan who loved seeing the show on Disney+? Or are you happy that it’s moving off the streamer and headed back to its BBC roots? Let us know how you feel in the comments!
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”