Since the fallout of the Disney deal last year, audiences have been concerned about the fate of Doctor Who. The Doctor Who Disney deal came to an end shortly after Season 15 wrapped up in May 2025, and while it has been confirmed that the sci-fi show will return this Christmas, many of us are still intrigued about what will happen next. Although details of the 2026 Christmas special are still under wraps, Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss has shared his thoughts on the future of the franchise. Gatiss is known for writing some truly great episodes of Doctor Who, but he knows how it feels to be in front of the camera as well as behind, too. The writer also appears in Doctor Who Season 3 as Professor Lazarus in “The Lazarus Experiment,” and in the 2017 Christmas special “Twice Upon a Time” as Captain Archibald Lethbridge Stewart​​​​​, so if anyone has the merit to speak about Doctor Who’s future, it’s Gatiss. While attending the Radio Times Covers Party recently, Gatiss compared Doctor Who to other notable sci-fi franchises:
It’s never gonna be Star Wars. So what it is, is Doctor Who, and I think that’s the key… It looked great. The Disney money obviously did something, but in the end, it’s essentially a spooky show, it’s a weird show.

What Mark Gatiss Thinks About the Future of ‘Doctor Who’

Gatiss explains that Doctor Who’s weirdness is what he’s always “adored” about it, also stating that the show is “not like anything else,” something that many dedicated viewers will agree with. Since its beginnings in 1963, the show has become a staple of British culture, and since the modern era (but especially Doctor Who’s Disney era), it has built up an even bigger international fan base. Gatiss makes another good point about the franchise:
When [Doctor Who] tries to be like something else, it’s not Doctor Who… It’s very much its own thing, and that’s why we’ve always loved it.
There’s no doubt that Disney’s influence on Doctor Who ​​​​​​was both a benefit and a hindrance. While the extra budget was great for special effects and blockbuster action scenes, some of Doctor Who​​​​​’s original charm got lost in the process, and this is something audiences hope showrunner Russell T Davies will bring back in the next installment. While Doctor Who stands on its own as one of the most famous and oldest sci-fi franchises in the world, it differs from the likes of Star Wars and the MCU massively, and that’s why it’s such a success. There are plenty of other franchises that attempt to be just another version of them, but with those titles as competition, they’re often overshadowed.

However, Doctor Who is so unique that no other movie or TV series has ever really been considered the same caliber, and this is something Gatiss is vocal about. As we wait for further updates on Doctor Who’s 2026 Christmas special (and the future of the show going forward), hopefully, Russell T Davies will take Gatiss’ remarks into account, especially as many viewers share these opinions, too.

Release Date

May 11, 2024

Network

BBC One

Directors

Alex Pillai, Peter Hoar, Ben Chessell, Julie Anne Robinson, Jamie Donoughue, Amanda Brotchie, Dylan Holmes Williams

Writers

Steven Moffat, Pete McTighe, Kate Herron, Inua Ellams, Juno Dawson

Franchise(s)

Doctor Who / Whoniverse