The Oldest Sci-Fi Show’s Future Just Got An Interesting New Wrinkle

Doctor Who is a show about time travel, aliens, and British people in space, but only recently has it gained a new hallmark: doubt. After Disney+ partnered with the BBC to release the show on the streaming service outside of the U.K., we saw a new era of the show including increased production value and more ambitious storytelling. Nevertheless, the two seasons released gained a mixed reception from fans.

As it stands now, Disney+ has still yet to renew Doctor Who for a third season in this new era, and rumors are flying about a possible hiatus or even cancellation. But across the pond, the BBC is confident its partnership with Disney will continue. Hopefully, that’s not just wibbly-wobbly.

According to Deadline, BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell said after presenting the BBC Annual Report that Disney is “a crucial partner and we share a lot of the same values so I’m really proud of the way that relationship has worked.” The collaboration of the two companies hasn’t just resulted in Doctor Who, but also series like Bluey and Tucci in Italy.

He highlighted Doctor Who specifically, though, saying the studio is “really committed to Doctor Who and is continuing to look at ways in which we can bring the show to fans.” That isn’t a concrete sign of the future of the series and the Disney partnership, but it shows that the BBC isn’t writing off the show just yet. “Fans love the Doctor Who brand,” Fussell said. “It’s been that way since before I was in short trousers.” To translate from British lingo, it’s been that way forever.

All this comes in the wake of outgoing star Ncuti Gatwa saying he left the role because of how strenuous the role was, even though he only played the Doctor for two seasons. Fans are speculating that this could be the first sign of something bad coming. Unlike the Doctor, we can’t just skip to the future to see if Doctor Who will be renewed or dropped — we have to take the long way ‘round.

Doctor Who is now streaming on Disney+.