There’s a script Hollywood just can’t quit. You’ve seen it before: take a beloved classic, inject it with whatever ideological serum is currently dripping off the espresso machines in West Hollywood, slap it on the screen, and then act absolutely shocked when audiences respond with a resounding “nah.” Lather, rinse, repeat—until the shareholders start to notice. And now it looks like Disney has found itself stumbling into yet another scene from this all-too-familiar playbook, this time dragging the long-running British sci-fi staple Doctor Who into the abyss.
What was supposed to be a shiny new chapter—a $100 million co-production deal between Disney and the BBC—has reportedly turned into what some are calling a “Mouse House nightmare.” That’s a lot of cheddar to spend on what’s increasingly looking like a ratings flop. The plan, presumably, was to turn Doctor Who into a global juggernaut. Instead, they may have reinvented the wheel and promptly driven it off a cliff.
The numbers aren’t just bad—they’re embarrassing. According to Breitbart, the opening episode of Series 15 lost a staggering 800,000 viewers compared to Ncuti Gatwa’s debut season last year. That’s a drop from 4 million down to 3.6 million, and even that modest number seems to be sinking faster than a Dalek in a swimming pool. Worse still, it’s reportedly only retaining about half the audience that tuned in during the Jodie Whittaker era—and that era wasn’t exactly a ratings bonanza either. So much for rebooting the franchise. At this rate, it might just regenerate into oblivion.
But let’s not pretend we don’t know what’s going on here. The folks behind this mess practically told us what they were doing. The show has been drowned in what can only be described as progressive checkbox storytelling: a “queer” Doctor, the first openly gay romance on-screen, a roster of trans and disabled characters, and a Time Lord who spends more time weeping than fighting intergalactic evil. I’m not even exaggerating—apparently, the Doctor now “openly weeps” in nearly every episode. Not exactly what you’d expect from someone with two hearts and centuries of toughened alien wisdom.
Disney CEO Bob Iger previously promised to “dial down” the woke content, possibly after realizing that not everything needs to be a lecture wrapped in a CGI explosion. But that memo clearly got lost somewhere in the production office, probably buried under a stack of “representation first, audience later” pitch decks. Because nothing says “good storytelling” like forcing in identity politics until the original character is unrecognizable.
Then there’s the star himself, Ncuti Gatwa. Instead of uniting fans, he’s become a walking PR disaster. From rumors of pulling out of Eurovision in protest of an Israeli contestant’s success (a move that allegedly left BBC executives furious), to offhanded public jabs about “white mediocrity” in entertainment, Gatwa seems more focused on making headlines than winning over the viewers. And his response to fans uncomfortable with the show’s new direction? “Just turn off the TV.” Well, judging by the ratings collapse, it looks like folks took his advice and ran with it.
Of course, the chaos wouldn’t be complete without conflicting reports and panicked denials. The Daily Mail and The Sun have suggested that Gatwa could be on the chopping block after this season, and that the show might even be headed for an extended break. The BBC, true to form, issued a corporate-speak statement denying everything and claiming no decisions have been made. Showrunner Russell T. Davies, never one to keep quiet, added his own cryptic nod to a possible “pause.” Translation: this ship is leaking, and nobody wants to admit who’s at the helm.
And remember that grand plan to build a Doctor Who expanded universe—à la Star Wars? You’d think someone might have realized that launching a fleet of spinoffs requires at least one ship that isn’t on fire. But no, they went ahead anyway, convinced that brand recognition and buzzwords would be enough to carry the day. Spoiler alert: it’s not.
The sad part? Doctor Who used to be a cultural cornerstone, a rare gem that could blend moral complexity, adventure, and humor without ever feeling like a college diversity seminar. Now, it feels more like homework—preachy, predictable, and painfully self-aware.
Disney and the BBC bet big on ideology over audience, and they’re getting the box office equivalent of a timey-wimey slap in the face. Maybe next time, they’ll remember that storytelling still matters. Or maybe they’ll just keep rewriting the same script and expecting a different ending. After all, in Hollywood, the only thing more reliable than a reboot is a bad idea that just won’t die.