And now for something completely different… The Doctor Who TV show originally premiered in UK on BBC in 1963 and ran through 1989. The program was revived in 2005 and hit the US in 2006, first on Syfy‘s forerunner (Sci-Fi Channel) before the move to BBC America. As of last year, 12 men had played the fabled Time Lord, but some fans had long been noting it was past time for a female lead. Now that that day is here, will it draw in new viewers, or will the change be too difficult for some fans to accept? Will Doctor Who be cancelled or renewed for season 12? Stay tuned. **Status update below.
A BBC America science-fiction drama, the 11th season of Doctor Who stars Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor. The series centers on a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, known only as The Doctor, as well as her team of friends – Ryan (Tosin Cole), Yasmin (Mandip Gill) and Graham (Bradley Walsh). Guest stars in season 11 include Sharon D. Clarke, Johnny Dixon, Samuel Oatley, Shaun Dooley, Susan Lynch, and Art Malik.
Below are the show’s TV ratings, typically the best way to tell if the series will be cancelled or renewed. In this case, the show’s UK ratings may have a greater impact on the series’ future. These figures will be updated as the weeks progress.
Note: If you’re not seeing the updated chart, please try reloading the page or view it here.
For comparisons: The 10th season of Doctor Who on BBC America averaged a 0.21 rating in the 18-49 year old demographic and 653,000 viewers.
Cable ratings are typically released within a day or so of the show’s airing, except for in the case of weekends and holidays. They are sometimes harder to come by so there may be occasional delays or gaps.
What do you think? Are you still watching the Doctor Who TV series? Did you think this BBC America TV show would be cancelled or renewed for a 12th season?
**12/7/2018 Status Update: Doctor Who is renewed for season 12. Details here.
I hope this show gets canceled before the next season comes out. It is so bad it makes the TV show “Baby Bob” look like a masterpiece! Trust me, look it up! It had about as much scifi as “The Guy from harlem”
There are only two (2) factors missing from the most recent iteration of DOCTOR WHO: entertainment and quality acting. Oh, wait. Something else is missing: my family as viewers.
I’ve been a fan since Tom Baker was the Doctor, after watching all series and the finale next week the only thing I have to look forward to is a regeneration. Bad stories, uninteresting companions and a Doctor who spends too much time acting “Goofy” in order to establish a Doctor character. Ms. Whittaker is a fine actress who can’t play a believable Doctor. And before I’m called sexist I didn’t like Peter Capaldi as the Doctor either. Time to move on and try again with new show leadership and cast, tell good stories and stop with making sure all… Read more »
Political correctness has devastated this show. It’s a pity Jodie wasn’t given a real chance to establish herself before endless pc stories made it just too hard viewing to keep on watching, I’ve tried to persevere but to no avail. Reinvent it next season or cancel it for another generation is my advice.
IMO the real problem with Season 11 is its dearth of humor. Doctor Who used to be a merry, light-hearted little romp but not any more. With all due respect to Chris Chibnall, he can’t write comedy to save his life. The show has taken a very somber turn, not delivering the fun and quirkiness that longtime fans have come to expect. And the subject matter…I mean, how CAN you inject humor into the partition of India or the toxic racism of 1955 Alabama? You can’t. I appreciate that serious matters are being explored but there should be a better… Read more »
Holly , You hit the nail on the head. !!!
this season has the worst writing since the reboot. terrible. on world rubbish too. chibnall stinks as this writing bit. poor jodie – forced to act out these absurd ridiculous stories. utter tripe.
The show has become pedantic.
Contrary to popular belief, I love the 13th Doctor along with the new companions. They bring a new energy to the show while trying to advocate against common issues in the world (which has always featured in the show). And really, if your offended by the gender of the doctor then you should really brush up on you doctor who as equality has always been the basic of the show. There are multiple references to a female doctor in the past (before the shows timeline) and I’m just upset she’s not a ginger. But, I do have to say, a… Read more »
The show has lost its way. First Moffat tries to state that Time Lords are Asexual, that they can be any sex that they choose. Now Chinalbi is getting into PC territory. The show is not about being PC. It is Science Fiction series, not something to meddle with by going PC. Basically, the show is in its death knell, and those who think that what is going on is great, are going to be in for a severe shock, when its top money making source, BBC America, is talking about cancelling the show after this season. If BBC America… Read more »
I was really looking forward to the new season of Doctor Who and did not care that the Doctor regenerated into a female form. I have watched them all since the ’70s when I started watching them on PBS. With that in mind I have to say I have deleted it from my DVR schedule and do not plan on watching anymore episodes. The writers have destroyed the series with constant SJW plugs, white male bashing, anti President Donald Trump jabs and constant leftist/socialist screeds. From the looks of the falling ratings I am not alone in giving up on… Read more »
True. The new DOCTOR WHO series is not much different than watching CNN or MSNBC.
WELL PUT !!!
I stopped watching the show before they cast a woman, which is inconsistent with what we know about the doctor and though I am sure the original creators would not do this I don’t have too much of a problem with it even though I think it’s kind of silly. What upset me is that the show went from being entertaining and became a political platform for the extreme left and their ideals. Every episode rams some kind of viewpoint down your throat and has very little to do with scifi or fun entertainment. I will stick with the old… Read more »
The creator of the show (Sydney Newman) wanted the Doctor to become a woman: “At a later stage Doctor Who should be metamorphosed into a woman.”
Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/8052694/How-Doctor-Who-nearly-became-the-Time-Lady.html
John Smith,
How Who appropriate!
Mr. Newman suggested that move to attempt to bolster poor ratings, yes.
That’s desperation, not inspiration.
I do not want the show to tank. I’m too old for another 16 year void!
I have watched Doctor Who since I was a boy. 13 doctors now, and never a single intrusion into politics, or social activism, until now. This “new” Doctor is completely divorced from those previously depicted. In the first place, the species of Time Lord does not change gender when normal regeneration occurs. In the second place, the personality of the Doctor has always changed, somewhat, but fans were upset when he went from English to Scottish, and now this? The initial rise in viewers was from the hope that the change would be simply “The Doctor” in a female body,… Read more »
In the UK, the series is seeing it’s highest ratings in years.
The idea that Doctor Who has never been political is just plain wrong. This article outlines many of the points and stories throughout the show’s history that are political. Many viewers were just too young to notice.
http://sartorialgeek.com/political-awareness-doctor-who/
I have watched Doctor Who since the Tom Baker era and yes, there have always been social messages, but stated before with subtlety and finesse. Not the sanctimonious, in-your-face preaching such as the 11th Season has delivered. Political correctness, when overdone, tends to alienate rather than enlighten.
dunno where your getting your numbers from but its not doing well in the UK either. They have been bleeding huge numbers with the viewership every time it airs. The big issue is not that its political but that is its not upbeat and cheery like it used to be. You can tackle hard subjects with humor and they are not doing that. I knew it would happen with Jody . She is not good with comedy and is way too anti male for the role as dr who imo and it shows drastically in her presentation of the iconic… Read more »
The apparently high viewing figures are the BBC are taking into account worldwide viewing figures. The BBC also put this incarnation of the Doctor before Strictly Come Dancing. Most people wanting to watch Strictly would turn over and catch the tail end of the Doctor, anyone recording Strictly would also get the tail end of the Doctor; all extra viewing minutes to massage the figures. I don’t know anyone who has enjoyed this season. A couple of die hards kept watching in the hope it would improve but it didn’t and they have given up. I stopped watching after the… Read more »
“Never a single intrusion into politics” That’s just flat out wrong. “The Mutants” is a commentary on South African politics; “The Green Death” and “Invasion of the Dinosaurs” feature explicit pro-environmentalism messages; “The Curse of Peladon” was an allegory about Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community; “The Sunmakers” was a commentary on British taxation and beuracracy; “Kinda” was a criticism of British colonialism; “The Happiness Patrol” featured a complete parody of Margaret Thatcher; and “Kill the Moon” is a thinly veiled abortion allegory. Those are just the ones I can come up with off the top of my head.
Please be last season of Doctor Who gone worse since women in the show need to end after this season. It so bad sorry criticism British country be really strange story now.
Sorry, it won’t be the last season, probably not even second to last. The overall story arc looks promising despite weak writing in some standalone episodes. FYI DW is doing quite all right at home and on digital platforms; also it airs in another countries. Not to mention, BBC understands the huge risk they took revamping the show with a female lead and they see how occasionally weak the scripts are. I think the show is looking forward to 5,7-7,6 mil viewers per episode and this will be just fine.. For now. Then they’ll find the new Doctor. Have a… Read more »
I agree that the show will continue, but I love Doctor Who and want to see it succeed rather than just “muddle through.” At present it needs better scriptwriters who understand what this funny, quirky and unique show is really all about.
Quick reminder for all angry fanboys/fangirls out there. Doctor Who was never 100% perfect or even decent. Classic Who is clunky and inconsistent. RTD era is mostly semi-good buffoonery and Moffat’s era is like some cheap unfunny harlequinade.
With Chibnall the show is finally starting making sense and if you can’t handle it – don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Thank You! Totally agree.
The show is now a PC showcase and the writing is beyond awful. Anyone that can defend this crap has a very low IQ and no need for stimulating TV that makes you think.
Define “PC showcase”. Was it an episode about an Historical Figure, or a wealthy villain whose hotel was built on an toxic waste site, or too many female character/people of color that made you and some other resentful lads feel *so* inferior?
Well, just so you know, things are evolving, we’re not in the 15th CE anymore, dear chap. As for the writing – it’s decent and it’ll get better eventually.
The problem is that the weird charm of this show is incompatible with political correctness. The Doctor has always been brilliant yet slightly mad, heroic but also wayward, a busybody rather a bystander, and the storyline up until now has been based on these characteristics. But put the Doctor into unfunny, real-life situations—like 1955 Alabama or 1947 India-Pakistan—-and the trademark humor just isn’t there. How can it be? Worse, put the Doctor into situations where he CAN’T interfere, and you lose much of what Doctor Who is really all about: i.e., his meddling. Too much p.c. preaching only deepens the… Read more »
Hear, hear.
I had low expectations but OMG what an abomination. I thought Peter Capaldi was a disappointment but, he was pure genius compared to Whittaker, who was obviously trying to channel David Tennant. Not even close! The scripts under Capaldi were boring & stale. They look to be even worse with Whittaker. As for “the companions” they should bring back the dog. A once legendary franchise is no more. RIP Doctor Who.
so true .