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Last year, when Disney+ was spending big to promote \u201cDoctor Who\u201d on the New York subway, an advertising campaign wrapped trains with images of the incoming Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, and his time traveling police box, the TARDIS.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour cosmic joyride awaits,\u201d the train wrapper read, and Gatwa\u2019s hand stretched out to invite prospective viewers \u2014 many of whom would likely be new to the show \u2014 to join him.<\/p>\n
The BBC had been making \u201cDoctor Who\u201d since the 1960s, and it had been shown in the United States on BBC America and HBO Max in recent years. When Disney+ came onboard as a distribution partner and co-producer in 2023, it pumped up the budget for the show, whose special effects had become painfully outdated, and brought it to a wider audience in the U.S.<\/p>\n
This revamped \u201cDoctor Who\u201d returns for a new season on Friday, with Gatwa once more playing a modern kind of Doctor, who is in touch with his feelings. The Welsh screenwriter Russell T Davies, who also oversaw an earlier revamp in 2005, is also back again, as the showrunner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Like last season, the episodes will be available simultaneously for British viewers on the BBC\u2019s streaming service, iPlayer, and on Disney+ for the rest of the world. This time around, that drop has been pushed back by eight hours, so that new episodes land at 3 a.m. Eastern time \u2014 perhaps in response to complaints from British fans, who had to stay up until midnight last season to watch it online. Britons who prefer to see a TV broadcast of \u201cDoctor Who\u201d (a Saturday night BBC staple) will have to avoid social media for a day if they want to avoid spoilers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Gatwa is the first Black actor to play the Doctor and his tenure follows Jodie Whittaker\u2019s turn as first woman in the role. Gatwa\u2019s initial season featured a queer romance, in an episode called \u201cRogue,\u201d and a racism allegory, in \u201cDot and Bubble.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those progressive casting moves and story lines haven\u2019t pleased all viewers. Earlier this year, The Sun, a British tabloid, cited anonymous sources to report that the show was \u201cfacing the axe<\/a>\u201d and that ratings had plummeted because of a \u201cwoke\u201d sensibility.<\/p>\n Responding to the Sun article, the BBC said in a statement: \u201c\u2018Doctor Who\u2019 has not been shelved. As we have previously stated, the decision on season three will be made after season two airs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n So the stakes are high this season. Four \u201cDoctor Who\u201d fans from the United States and Britain spoke to The New York Times via video calls to share their views on Gatwa\u2019s performance, on Davies\u2019s return, and on how the show has changed since Disney+ got involved. Their comments have been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n I have always felt that \u201cDoctor Who\u201d would naturally fit in a global franchise context. The idea that this tiny little show that has been on the BBC for 60 years can now stand shoulder to shoulder with big franchises like \u201cStar Wars\u201d and Marvel is really exciting. It creates a whole world of opportunities.<\/p>\n It was actually David Tennant who really got me into the show in terms of being a fan. I started going to conventions, started to meet other fans and cosplayers. In the first five years I was doing it, it was all fans my age, and we were all Tennant fans. But now, when I\u2019m attending conventions, it\u2019s a lot of people whose introduction to \u201cDoctor Who\u201d has been via Ncuti.<\/p>\n
\nChristel Dee, 33<\/h2>\n
London<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n