Doctor Who‘s future suddenly looks a whole lot brighter. The world’s longest-running sci-fi TV series has had a rough few years. Viewership declined during Chris Chibnall’s time as showrunner, and hopes had been high that the return of Russell T. Davies – in partnership with Disney+, no less – would lead to a more popular regeneration. Sadly, the second Davies era didn’t exactly land to popular and critical acclaim, and the BBC’s Doctor Who partnership with Disney came to an unfortunate end after two seasons and a spinoff, The War Between the Land and the Sea.
It’s easy to see why the fandom is concerned. This is a franchise that has been canceled once before, after all, when the BBC pulled the plug in 1989 (only for the Doctor to return 16 years later). This time round, BBC bosses have consistently stressed their commitment to Doctor Who, but the problem simply lies in the finances. The BBC is under serious financial pressure, not least because of current negotiations with the government over the BBC license fee. Fortunately, another opportunity may well be presenting itself.
Netflix is Eager to Work With the BBC
Image Courtesy of BBC Studios
Step forward Netflix, the world’s biggest streaming service – and a regular partner with the BBC. Speaking to the Telegraph last week, Netflix’s co-chief executive Greg Peters revealed that working more closely with broadcasters like the BBC was a priority in the aftermath of the streamer’s aborted attempt to buy Warner Bros. “Our job is to think about this from not only the BBC’s perspective, but a lot of broadcasters,” he stressed. “How can we help them actually connect with audiences that they’re not really connecting with? We’re eager to do that.”
Peters is talking about distributing BBC shows, of course, not funding them in co-production deals; the BBC’s Director of Drama Lindsay Salt recently referred to the “implosion” of the co-production market in an interview with Deadline. But American co-production cash is beginning to flow once again, as proven by shows like The Night Manager Season 2, Industry Season 4, and the recent Lord of the Flies, which means the possibility may still be there for Doctor Who. The catch will be the show’s recent performance, which has generally been disappointing; still, if pursuing contracts with the BBC is a priority for Netflix, then the show – still one of the U.K.’s biggest brands – has a solid chance.
There’s an odd sense in which Doctor Who will likely be helped by one other factor, too. The BBC was struggling to compete with other franchises in an age where episodes routinely got budgets over $10 million. In truth, that particular streaming model was neither productive nor sustainable, and budgets are likely to drop across the board. 2025 was the year peak streaming died, with Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy quoting Disney execs saying “Streaming is dead,” while the Duffer brothers – creators of Stranger Things – expected cash to be a lot tighter industry-wide going forward. This means Doctor Who no longer needs quite so high a budget to compete.
Will Other Streamers Be Open to Doctor Who?
image courtesy of bbc studios
There would, of course, be a great deal of irony in Doctor Who winding up on Netflix – ideally as a co-production. Writing in Doctor Who Magazine #568, former showrunner Chris Chibnall outlined the logic that would eventually lead to the initial Disney+ partnership in the first place. “The challenge we were set by the BBC was to keep up with Netflix,” he explained. “The challenge for the people who succeed us is to keep up with Disney+.” The argument was clearly “If you can’t beat them, join them” – take advantage of the new medium of streaming. That logic hasn’t really changed.
The BBC has a good history working with other streamers, of course, and it’s entirely possible there could be a co-production deal with Amazon; HBO Max seems a little more unlikely, given the current negotiations between Warner Bros. and Paramount are likely to lead to a new direction. The interesting question will be how the distribution side of things is negotiated; Doctor Who remained on the BBC’s in-house streaming service, iPlayer, for U.K. distribution during the Disney years. Any streamer that got on board for Doctor Who will probably need to agree to the same kind of deal.
Even that may not be certain, though. The Telegraph speculates that a closer arrangement could mean Netflix effectively replacing iPlayer for some viewers. The word “some” in doing pretty heavy lifting in that sentence, because that would surely lead to a debate about the BBC’s role in British media. That discussion is coming anyway, likely a result of the license fee negotiations, but it will surely complicate matters somewhat. Still, one thing can be said for sure; Netflix is interested. And that is surely good news for Doctor Who in particular.
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