Will Doctor Who get another season? Showrunner Russel T Davies admits he isn¡¯t sure
Struggling with a recent ratings slump, Doctor Who faces an uncertain future, with showrunner Russel T Davies admitting he doesn¡¯t know what will happen next. After the contentious reception of the Fifteenth Doctor era, fans have been eagerly speculating about the implications of the finale episode ¡°The Reality War¡±, though there may not be definitive answers for a while.
Doctor Who is among BBC¡¯s longest-running series, starting all the way back in 1963. After an extended hiatus that lasted throughout the ¡®90s, the series was relaunched to great success in 2005, and has been going strong ever since.
However, the series has endured a slump in recent years, to the point that even the current showrunner is uncertain about where the show will go moving forward. In his regular column for the Doctor Who Magazine, showrunner Russell T Davies admitted that plans for continuing the series are still in flux, writing:
"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."
Davies had previously revealed that the recent episodes of Doctor Who had been cofinanced by Disney, and that he had hopes to produce the series on an annual basis.
This pause in the series production was further corroborated in a report from Deadline, where a source embedded in the production stated: ¡°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 Fifteenth Doctor¡¯s tenure ends with rampant speculation
The Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, ended his two-season run on 31st May, with ¡°The Reality War¡± concluding his story arc and ending with his regeneration. Following his exit, the episode ended with a cliffhanger appearance by Billie Piper, who¡¯s previously played the role of companion Rose Tyler on the show.
The ambiguity surrounding the reveal has fueled heavy fan theorizing about whether or not Billie Piper will indeed take over as the new Doctor, something that the show¡¯s own marketing learned into while promoting the next Doctor Who Magazine.
Billie Piper is... this month's #DoctorWho Magazine cover star!
¡ª Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) June 17, 2025
Get an inside look at the revelations of the Doctor Who: Season 2 finale - Subscribe and get each issue delivered direct to your door ?? https://t.co/eWCjIsLYfv pic.twitter.com/x0rnxBIti0
While Billie Piper taking over as the Sixteenth Doctor would be an obvious conclusion to draw from ¡°The Reality War¡± episode¡¯s ending, a number of decisions both within the episode, and the show¡¯s past history, muddy the waters a bit.
For instance, the episode credits call both Ncuti Gatwa and Jodie Whittaker the Doctor, but not Billie Piper herself. Furthermore, the series has broken from its conventional regeneration process in the past, notably with the Fifteenth Doctor Himself, who originally coexisted with David Tennant¡¯s Fourteenth Doctor thanks to the plot device of bigeneration.
Most importantly, however, the recent production struggles and impending hiatus of the series mean that no production plans are set in stone as of yet, so there¡¯s no telling what form Doctor Who will take when it finally makes a return.
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Pulak Kumar is an entertainment and current events writer who got his start with bylines in Sportskeeda and Koi Moi. He's immensely passionate about understanding and analyzing the latest happenings in Hollywood, anime, gaming and pop culture.
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