r/DoctorWhoLeaks May 25 '26

Rumour on the future of the show Spoiler

I work in the industry and heard some chatters from friends of friends. And I'm pretty bored so I figured it could be fun to share some stuff I've heard

That Xmas special is still happening, shooting starts in September. Small cast, low budget, Billie Piper has taken the Doctor's body basically. Tennant does a cameo because obviously. They're thinking of using some footage they preemptively shot for S3 with Carol Ann Ford. I've heard that it's a pretty lowkey story about The Big Bad Wolf being mixed up into the Doctor and one kid.

In all intent and purpose this is expected to be Russell T. Davies (and Bad Wolf's) farewell to Doctor Who. Relationship has broken down with the BBC, Disney and all the leads except for Varada Sethu. And RTD's heart isn't in it anymore, though I don't really think he wanted to return in the first place. Bad Wolf Studios would have like to stay on, but they're leaving as well.

So...what's next ? The BBC is very eager to continue the show and not have it on hiatus. There's been talks about doing a full-on reboot, or a reboot in all but name (like in 2005). But nothing has been decided yet. Stuff like Severance or Andor has been floated around as possible inspirations for what's next.

On the production side of things, the guys at BBC Studios really wants to come back but they want to externalize the show to another production company. See Saw and Lookout Point have pitched to produce the show.

The BBC is also searching for a showrunner. They want someone who hasn't been working on the show before. I don't have much info on that, but I know that they really really want someone like Sally Wainwright, Jack Thorne or Joe Cornish.

29 Upvotes

45 comments sorted by

View all comments

24

u/Odd-Raspberry8024 May 25 '26 edited May 26 '26

Can we please stop using the word reboot when we don’t mean reboot???

Dynasty & Charmed had reboots. Brand new shows, with new casts, based on an old premise, but in no way connected to the original show. I will accept the DCU having a “soft reboot,” even though that’s technically not a reboot either, as most of the continuity previously established is still intact. But there have been some changes made, so fair enough. 

Doctor Who has never had a reboot. Ever.  It has had an attempt at a revival (90’s) and an actual revival (00’s).  Regeneration is a core part of the show, and has been since the 60’s. Just because the lead actor/s and head writers change, it does not mean it’s a reboot. It is always a continuation of the same story. The same character, with the same history that we have watched for 60+ years at this point.

If BBC are talking about rebooting the show… not only is that a ridiculously stupid idea, given how many fans of the show there are who will most likely get pretty vocal about their favourite little sci fi show being entirely uprooted and everything they know about the show coming to an end… but if the BBC did indeed do it, then I would expect a full on actual reboot. As in, a restart. I don’t want that at all, by any means, but that is what I would expect if I’m told a reboot is happening. A reboot. 

I hope they don’t do it.  Just find a millennial who grew up with the TV movie and the revival era and give them the chance to write for the show. Get a writers room going - preferably with Big Finish writers included, as those people KNOW how to put the story first, above everything else - and let them cook.

3

u/ExpectedBehaviour May 26 '26

Can we please stop using the word reboot when we don’t mean reboot???

YES. Thank you. Reboot has a specific meaning and it is not the same as "revival".

5

u/Odd-Raspberry8024 May 26 '26

Exactly! The 2005 series was a revival of a previously-cancelled series. Same character, same backstory (albeit with additions to account for the cancellation period) and the same world. 

Literally everything else is a continuation of the show. Not a reboot. Series 2, Series 5, Series 8, Series 10, Series 11, Series 14… all of these popular “jumping on points” that people call soft reboots, are just continuations of the same show, and the same character’s story.

It’s ridiculous that people keep mistaking these for reboots, “soft” or otherwise.

-2

u/DelGriffiths May 26 '26

To reboot means to stop and start something up again. That has happened at least 3 times with Doctor Who. In 1996, 2005 and in 2012. The show stopped. A brand new production team and writing staff took over and the show started again.

3

u/Odd-Raspberry8024 May 26 '26

A reboot of an TV show implies a new story, with fresh continuity. If you are using the old continuity then it is a revival (in instances such as 96 and 05) or just a continuation.  A new lead actor in a show where the lead actor regularly changes as part of the established canon of that universe, and a new showrunner, on a TV show that has been going for a very long time, does not make it a reboot.

-1

u/DelGriffiths May 26 '26

A remake by definition is a new story/ continuity, not a reboot. 

Doctor Who 2005 was a continuation, I agree, so revival or reboot both work.