Disney+ drops “Doctor Who” — here’s what that means for the long-running show’s future

Key points

• Disney+ will no longer produce new episodes of Doctor Who alongside the BBC.

• The show will return on the BBC with a Christmas special in 2026.

• A BBC exec reiterated that the broadcaster is “fully committed” to the future of the series.

The House of Mouse has officially cut ties with Doctor Who.

Disney+ has ended its partnership with the BBC to distribute the long-running sci-fi adventure series, a representative for the streaming service tells Entertainment Weekly. The two broadcasters’ team-up spanned two seasons starring Ncuti Gatwa as the titular Time Lord as well as five specials between 2023 and 2025, and an upcoming five-episode spinoff series, The War Between the Land and the Sea.

Whovians have no need to panic, though, as the BBC confirmed that the show will soon return despite fan speculation that cancellation may be imminent. Here’s everything we know about the future of Doctor Who.

When will Doctor Who return?

The BBC announced Tuesday that Doctor Who will return on Dec. 25, 2026, with a new Christmas special written by Russell T Davies. The screenwriter served as the showrunner for the first season of the modern show starring Christopher Eccleston in 2005, as well as the subsequent three seasons (and specials) starring David Tennant from 2005 to 2010. He later returned to the show for the anniversary specials in 2023, and returned to his showrunner role for both of Gatwa’s seasons as the Doctor.

What has the BBC said about more Doctor Who?

Lindsay Salt, BBC’s Director of Drama, acknowledged Disney’s exit from the show in a statement on Tuesday.

“We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea,” Salt began. “The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026.”

She continued, “We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”

Salt’s emphasis on the broadcaster being “fully committed” to more Who should hearten skeptical fans who feared that the show might be canceled or see an indefinite hiatus following Gatwa’s tenure as the Doctor.

However, Disney+ exiting Doctor Who may make accessing the series outside of the United Kingdom a little more tricky, as Disney’s platform streamlined the show’s international distribution outside of its home country.

Additionally, Davies previously told EW that the Disney+ deal gave Doctor Who a larger budget for every episode, which presumably means that the streamer’s departure will bring the budgets back down to the show’s pre-Disney days.

What’s the next Doctor Who series about?

Before Davies’ Christmas special, the next show in the Doctor Who universe will be the five-episode spinoff series The War Between the Land and the Sea. That show will be headlined by Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who previously guest starred on Doctor Who, but are playing new characters in the spinoff.

The series, which will see government agency UNIT fending off a threat from the Sea Devils, will see Jemma Redgrave reprise her role as UNIT Commander-in-Chief Kate Stewart, after playing the role on Doctor Who intermittently since 2012. Alexander Devrient will also return as Colonel Ibrahim.

Doctor Who vet Dylan Holmes Williams will direct all five episodes of the series, while Davies and Pete McTighe will share writing duties. A release date for the show has yet to be announced, but EW can confirm that it will still premiere on Disney+ despite the company’s divestment from future Whoniverse projects.

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Who will play the new Doctor?

It’s still not immediately clear who will play the Sixteenth Doctor in upcoming episodes of the show. Gatwa departed the show after two seasons in May, and shockingly regenerated into Billie Piper in the final moments of the most recent episode. It’s safe to assume that Piper, who previously played companion Rose Tyler during Davies’ original run on the show, will star in the 2026 Christmas special.

But the BBC and the Doctor Who team have stopped short of officially confirming that Piper will play the Sixteenth Doctor moving forward, which means it’s possible that she will only appear in the 2026 Christmas special (and perhaps additional specials) before the creative team settles on a new star to play the Doctor for its next full season.

“It’s no secret how much I love this show, and I have always said I would love to return to the Whoniverse, as I have some of my best memories there,” Piper said in a press release from the BBC at the time. “So to be given the opportunity to step back on that TARDIS one more time was just something I couldn’t refuse, but who, how, why, and when, you’ll just have to wait and see.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly