Former Doctor Who writer Robert Shearman has provided his outlook on the future of the longest-running sci-fi show on TV, and he doesn’t think it looks good for the series. Doctor Who celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023 with the return of praised showrunner Russell T. Davies and the debut of a new Doctor, played by Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa. Unfortunately, Davies’ return didn’t re-revolutionize the series as many had hoped, and in fact might have marked the demise of Doctor Who altogether, as the series’ future hasn’t been officially confirmed.
“It’s weird because the show is probably as dead as we’ve ever known it,” Robert Shearman suggested to Doctor Who Magazine. This isn’t the first time Doctor Who’s future has been uncertain, as the series was cancelled in 1989, but Shearman comments that this wasn’t so final as there was still “a current Doctor,” but, now, “everything… produced in Doctor Who terms is going to feel retrogressive.” He suggests that “No one’s going to start writing Doctor Who books with a Billie Piper Doctor, because no one knows what that means,” which leaves Doctor Who’s future in jeopardy.
Doctor Who’s Future Looks Less & Less Certain Every Day
At the end of Doctor Who season 15’s finale, “The Reality War,” in May 2025, Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor sacrificed this iteration in order to save Belinda Chandra’s (Varada Sethu) child. He regenerated, shockingly, into the form of Billie Piper, who previously starred in Doctor Who as iconic companion Rose Tyler. Shearman’s comments suggest that the unexplained ending of “The Reality War” actually “put a full stop on things,” noting that “we didn’t have that” when Sylvester McCoy was left as the Seventh Doctor even after Doctor Who was cancelled in 1989.
Shearman has written BBV and Big Finish audio stories for Doctor Who dating back to the McCoy years, and wrote the 2005 episode, “Dalek,” which starred Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose. His long-running relationship with Doctor Who makes his comments more devastating, though he suggests that he doesn’t think it matters – “it’s a strange thing: it’s made me want to embrace it, because the whole of Doctor Who feels like it’s in its own bubble.” Doctor Who’s current team have confirmed the series’ continuation, but we don’t know when this will happen.
Fans want to see Doctor Who return to explain Billie Piper’s appearance, apparently as the Sixteenth Doctor. The series also needs redemption even after Davies’ second era as showrunner, so there are hopes that someone new – the likes of J. Michael Straczynski, Kate Herron, and Toby Whithouse have all been suggested – could replace Davies as showrunner to revitalize the series. We don’t know whether the deal between Bad Wolf and Disney will remain intact, so the future of Doctor Who is uncertain, and the current status of the Doctor themselves is just as confusing.
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