Disney boss says Doctor Who "really good fit" in response to co-production
Disney has said that Doctor Who is a “really good fit” for them as they co-produce the new era of the show.
While the show still airs on the BBC in the UK, it has been distributed on Disney+ internationally as part of the recent deal – though debate has surfaced on how much success the new model has been since it began with the recent season.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Disney’s SVP of original productions in EMEA Liam Keelan said (via Deadline): “[Doctor Who] is a fabulous series.
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"Obviously, in the UK it’s fully BBC, rightly so. We take rest of world rights. But really, really happy to have it.
"I think just, the quirkiness of it, the fact that it’s in that sci-fi world and when you think about what Disney offers in other regards, I think it feels like a really good fit to me. I mean it’s great to have it.”
However, Deadline notes that he didn’t commit to the deal continuing beyond the next season of the show.
The BBC and Disney deal has changed the series’ UK broadcast schedule, with episodes premiering earlier on BBC iPlayer on Saturdays in line with the Disney+ schedule, before its traditional broadcast on BBC One that evening.
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Earlier in June, both the BBC and Davies defended the latest season’s ratings amid claims it underperformed in overnights – though these figures don’t take streaming into account.
Back in March, Davies also defended the deal with Disney, telling the They Like to Watch podcast: "You’ve got to look in the long term at the end of the BBC, which is undoubtedly on its way in some shape or form.
"Is Doctor Who going to die then? No! You’ve got to prepare for that kind of stuff."
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He also praised the increased budget that the deal has provided, adding: "If Disney collapsed tomorrow and we had to go back to making Doctor Who on a normal BBC budget, you know what? We’d all rally round and make it and suddenly the stories would become claustrophobic ghost stories.
"A lot of people would like that very much, so I’m not saying you have to have this happen. But while it’s happening elsewhere, I think it’s unfair that it doesn’t happen to Doctor Who."
Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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