The return of David Tennant to Doctor Who may explain the show's distribution deal with Disney+. It's been announced that new episodes of Doctor Who will be exclusive to Disney+ outside the UK, where it will continue to air on the BBC. The massive global distribution deal with Disney - combined with Doctor Who now being a BBC co-production with Bad Wolf studios - is a promising sign for the scale and ambition of the new Russell T Davies and Ncuti Gatwa era. However, it might be that the prospect of new episodes featuring David Tennant sweetening the deal for Disney ahead of the show landing on the streaming service in 2023.
David Tennant returning for Doctor Who's 60th anniversary will surely entice back some lapsed viewers when the three special episodes air in November 2023. Tennant is the most popular of the modern Doctors, and his season with Catherine Tate is seen as a golden age for the 21st incarnation of Doctor Who. As Disney tends to trade on the nostalgia and love that subscribers have for the likes of Star Wars, the nostalgic buzz of new episodes of Doctor Who starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate will be the perfect way to launch the show on the platform.
Why Doctor Who's Disney+ Deal Is So Important
Doctor Who being distributed by Disney+ is a big deal for the show, giving its global reach a more unified approach. In previous decades, Doctor Who aired on a variety of different networks, meaning that marketing the show could sometimes be difficult depending on the needs of individual broadcasters. With Disney+ as the home of Doctor Who outside the UK, this will streamline the promotion of Doctor Who to global audiences.
Also, the injection of cash from Disney for this huge distribution deal will also help the production of the show, allowing the opportunity for Doctor Who to live up to its ambitious premise. It's an exciting time for Doctor Who, and it marks the show's proper entrance into the streaming landscape. It was suggested that interest in Doctor Who waned once it left Netflix, so the Disney+ deal will allow the show to take pride of place on a streaming platform once more.
Starting Doctor Who's New Era With Tennant Is Less Risky
Russell T Davies is definitely aiming his new era at an audience who've grown up with streaming. The casting of Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor backs this up, given that the actor shot to fame as Eric Effiong in Netflix's Sex Education. While Gatwa's casting will ensure a brand-new audience for Doctor Who, the opportunity to launch Doctor Who on Disney+ with David Tennant is a less risky prospect for the platform.
The nostalgia for both David Tennant and Catherine Tate is huge, and combining this with the 60th-anniversary celebrations will be a big event. Those fans not wanting to miss out will be signing up for a Disney+ subscription to see the new adventures of the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna. Chances are that the younger audiences excited by Ncuti Gatwa already have Disney+ subscriptions, so new episodes of Doctor Who starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate in 2023 will drive up subscriptions for those curious to see the legendary TARDIS team back in action.