Disney has exited the Doctor Who business. Earlier this week, Disney announced it would no longer collaborate with the BBC on future seasons of Doctor Who. Why did Disney end its partnership with Doctor Who? The reasons have finally been revealed.
Why did Disney end its Doctor Who partnership?
In a new report from Deadline, sources say that Disney’s deal with Doctor Who fell apart for three reasons: ratings, budget, and MAGA politics.
The two Doctor Who seasons on Disney+ did not generate the ratings they had hoped for. This past season, which began in April of 2025, failed to register on Nielsen and Luminate’s streaming charts. The two seasons anchored by Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor never reached the ratings of the last season with Jodie Whittaker in 2021.
One of Deadline’s sources said Gatwa, who left Doctor Who after two seasons, never “fully embraced” playing the Doctor. “There is more to that role than performing,” the source stated. “You have got to be an ambassador for the brand and embrace being that generation’s Doctor. Matt Smith and David Tennant fully understood the responsibility it carried.”
The increased budget on the show caused problems, especially after generating low ratings. Estimates put Doctor Who’s budget with Disney between $8.5 million and $9.2 million an episode. Some of Doctor Who’s most celebrated episodes carried cheaper budgets. As one of the former executives on Doctor Who explained, “Budget limitations used to help the idiosyncrasies of the show. Big budgets can cause a problem.”
Under showrunner Russell T. Davies, Doctor Who has embraced diversity in its storylines and casting. For example, the show cast transgender actress Yasmin Finney and featured a kiss between Gatwa and Jonathan Groff. One of Deadline’s sources stated that Doctor Who became “too woke for Trump’s USA.” Considering how Disney handled the Jimmy Kimmel suspension, the diverse storytelling played a “factor in Disney’s minds” when debating a renewal.
Disney+’s involvement with Doctor Who ends with two seasons and an upcoming spin-off, The War Between The Land and the Sea. The next iteration of Doctor Who will be a Christmas special in 2026.
