WillDoctor Whoreturn after theshocking cliffhanger conclusionof this season? That’s the question on every Whovian’s lips, and now showrunnerRussell T. Davies, who resurrected the show after a sixteen-year hiatus in the 2000s, has stated that “we don’t know what’s happening yet.” Davies made the statement in a production diary inDoctor Who Magazine, as reported by Deadline. The uncertainty comes with the end of the show’s production deal with Disney+ and declining ratings for the recent seasons of the series.
In a production diary for the season finale published inDoctor Who Magazine, Davies wrote, “We don’t know what’s happening yet, and while everyone works that out, I’ll take a pause on this page … Hopefully, we’ll have news soon.” A BBC source clarified, “This letter is a production notes diary for when the show is in production, or on air, and as Russell has stated within the piece, it is a pause.” The finale, “The Reality War,” certainly left on a cliffhanger: after facing off against the ancient Time Lord Omega and a double-dose of the amoral Time Lord scientist the Rani, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) sacrificed his life to alter the timeline, ensuring that Poppy, the daughter of companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu), would still exist. Like every prior incarnation of the Doctor, he regenerated into a new person…but bizarrely, that new person appeared to be long-lost companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper).
Has ‘Doctor Who’ Gone on Hiatus Before?
Doctor Who’s sixty-year history hasn’t come without some hard times for the series. The series' popularity began declining after the departure of Fourth DoctorTom Bakerin 1981; it also began falling out of favor with executives at the BBC. Sixth DoctorColin Baker’s first full season as the Doctor ended with an eighteen-month hiatus between 1985 and 1986, only to return with the controversial season-long “Trial of a Time Lord” storyline and Baker’s forced departure at the end of it. The show ended a few years later in 1989, after three seasons withSylvester McCoyas the Seventh Doctor. A lengthy hiatus followed: the series was revived for a1996 TV moviestarringPaul McGannas the Eighth Doctor. Although the movie was intended to kick off a revival of the series, the hiatus continued until 2005, when the series returned for good (at least, until now) withChristopher Ecclestonin the lead role.
Doctor Whofans do have something coming their way to tide them over, no matter how long the hiatus lasts. The spin-off seriesThe War Between the Land and the Sea, which will focus on the Doctor’s longtime aquatic adversaries, the Silurians, is expected to hit Disney+ later this year.
All episodes of the most recent two seasons ofDoctor Whoarecurrently streaming on Disney+. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
Doctor Who
Source:Deadline
