(BBC America)
There were some who predicted that Doctor Who’s ratings would see a dramatic decline when it was announced that, for the first time, a woman had been cast as The Doctor. The opposite occurred and BBC America’s ratings for season 11 rose more than 30% when compared to season 10. Will viewership continue to rise in season 12? Could Doctor Who actually be cancelled or, is it sure to be renewed for season 13, regardless of the ratings? Stay tuned. *Status update below.
A BBC America science-fiction drama, the 12th season of 2005’s Doctor Who revival stars Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, an alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor travels through time and space in the TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside, with traveling companions Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh). Guest stars in season 12 include Molly Harris, Neil Stuke, Jo Martin, Anjli Mohindra, Julia Foster, Aurora Marion, James Buckley, Jacob Collins-Levy, Dominique Maher, Darron Meyer, Lenny Henry, Stephen Fry, Robert Glenister, Goran Višnjic, Laura Fraser, and Sacha Dhawan.
The ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s chances of staying on the air. The higher the ratings, the better the chances for survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available.
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For comparisons: Season 11 of Doctor Who on BBC America averaged a 0.28 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 881,000 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.
What do you think? Do you like the Doctor Who TV series on BBC America? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a 13th season?
*2/26/20 update: Doctor Who has been renewed for a 13th season.
The ratings have really tanked, the UK ratings were also very poor especially consolidate. Usually it ticks up for the finale. I am shocked they are not at least exploring a change at the top for the series if not switching off of Jodi.
Up to quite recently, people defended the ratings by comparing them with series 10’s – which in any case is unfair because series 10 was Capaldi’s third and last, while series 11-12 are Whittaker’s first and second. But the funny thing is that series 10 is starting to look good next to series 12, because although its overnights were low the delayed-viewing figures that eventually made up the consolidated ratings were much better than series 12’s. Even The Eaters of Light, which Chibnall-Whittaker cheerleaders like to trot out to demonstrate how well the show is doing at the moment, had… Read more »
The writing has simply been bad these last two seasons. First it has been dumbed down and everything is explained over and over again. The lessons of the episodes are not subtle at all anymore. Then they do commit a lot of the “telling but not showing” crime, which winds me up the most, “oh you are so brave” yet never really showing it. Ryan’s disability vanished into the air, the Doctor herself was just not good, the actress seemed to lack the presence needed. I first blamed the writers but I actually now think Jodie was simply a bad… Read more »
Who are the writers of the show? How do we tell them they are killing Dr. Who for good with this garbage.
Maybe they should hire some sci-fi writers instead of political ones.
I feel sad that all these posts are so terribly negative about Jodie Whittaker and the current production team. I see the Chibnell Doctor Who as a reboot of the franchise in order to engage much younger viewers again, but on fa.ily TV. (as in the 1960s). These new fans can grow up with the series and guarantee ratings in the future. There are after all the original series to 1989, and the first renewal in 2005. The core tenets remained the same. This is the case for seriesc11 & 12. It’s no surprise that in the UK these episodes… Read more »
Jodie’s accent is just cringy as hell! Being a woman isn’t the problem here, she was just a really bad choice for the Doc and should be pulling Pints in Coronation Street instead! What’s with all these stupid faces she pulls as well! I guess that’s supposed to be funny like Tennant but the problem is that women just can’t pull this off imo. Unless they build this show right back up from the ground with new writers and cast (with less companions), I feel this show will never redeem its former glory. Knowing the BBC though and thinking it… Read more »
It has been said in previous post and better argued by others but please let me also say that this latest Doctor has been so disappointing! The BBC has been meddling in the show for some years with their PC agenda but the heavy handedness of Chibnall’s stories have sucked all the joy out of the series. Nonsensical actions of the companions plus disjointed stories has brought me to the point of talking back to my television in exasperation! I think Jodi could be an excellent Doctor but not with what she has to work with. This has been a… Read more »
Doctor Who is a long running series that started in 1963. Although the BBC owns the show, Doctor Who really belongs to the fans and those who watch the show. Over the last 3 series or seasons (for the Americans), Doctor Who has changed as far as series writing and directing. Chris Chibnall has with no doubt made drastic changes to Doctor Who. Long term, hard core fans tend not to like changes within their favorite shows. Not only has Chris Chibnall tampered with the Doctor as far as being male or female, he has also taken the program to… Read more »
Doctor who being female has been in the conversation for screen writers for a long time. She was not cast to promote a political agenda. I personally feel like The doctor doesnt feel like the doctor as a result of the complete lack of gravitos given to her character. Chris chinbull made Jodie into a fun loving, easy going and cutsie character banishing any brooding or angst portrayed by the last four docters leaving her character feeling like its lacking something. Despite this I do believe there are simply to many characters in the tardis and as a result proper… Read more »
LOL. Moffat made his own changes from RTD and beat Chibnall to the gender swap with Master/Missy.
This season is already an improvement over last season and is closer in style to RTD and Moffat than last season. Jodie is being given better material and the pace is much quicker. Much more exciting.
Been a fan for years and Doctor Who is male. It was a mistake to change the Doctor to female. A spin off with a female time lord might have worked with right actor. The preaching is dreadful, subtle showing kindness, understanding of differences is one thing being hit over the head with wokeness is another! Jodie hadn’t seen Doctor Who before taking the role and it shows. Having 3 companions and Jodi running around is more like the Famous Four in Time and Space. Loose Chibnal, say good bye to Jodie, rethink the whole cast and choose a 30-35… Read more »
Show is garbage now.
Nicely said!
And as the Doctor says over and over, we have time to save our planet. Dr. Who meets Captain Planet.
No thank you.
Get off earth please .. go out and do you Doctor thing!
Sadly the writting for Doctor Who is terrible, it isn’t fun and entertaining anymore! Instead we have poorly written, agenda driven, PC politics that beats you over the head with that week’s chosen topic. Add in some poor acting, mediocre music and poor SFX and you have a losing combination. Chibnall has gone out of his way to anger the fans by getting rid of Unit, telling the fans what we must enjoy and doubling down on the elements the fans do not like just to spite us. I do not know what this show is, but it isn’t Doctor… Read more »
Loved Dr. Who! PC is killing show. Get a New or former doctor. Return the entertainment.
Ratings in the UK are meaning less and less. It’s doing perfectly well there. It will go on and on, and on…
Ratings are going down in the UK Sunday 19th January 2019 4.04millons and the worst ratings since 1986!
Those numbers are taken totally out of context. Compare the most watched shows in the UK now to what they were even ten years ago; ALL OF THE NUMBERS ARE DOWN because of how many viewing options there are.
Those were the overnight figures. The BBC only cares about the overnights+delayed viewing ratings, and those are in line with what the show was doing in 2017. Doctor Who’s worst overnight figures were something like 2.8 million a few years ago, with most of series 10 doing less than 4 million in overnights. Anyone reporting they were the worst ever this year was jumping the gun and comparing apples to oranges (or overnights to consolidated figures, in this case). The show has definitely lost most of its boost from 2018, but most series would be happy to have the same… Read more »
The UK incorporate the US figures to boost the ratings when numbers are put out as how many watch, rather than just UK figures, you have to search for UK only ratings. And whilst I would agree that many programs are watched on all sorts of devices. Viewing figures don’t take account of who is watching programs twice or more, which people often do. A program only has to be watched for 10 minutes to count as part of viewing figures. Missy worked because it was in conjunction with the Doctor, she wouldn’t have stood along without the main protagonist.… Read more »
I am afraid International figures are not included in the figures given above. That figure is for the UK audience only
Season 10 was broadcast over the Spring to Summer, that rating for the Eaters of Light was broadcast on one of the hottest days of the year. This season is being broadcast in one of the periods where the weather drives people inside. We have had storms, heavy rain and poor weather. Doctor Who is yes lower like other shows in 2017 but it is well down on the surrounding shows, Call The MidWife and Country File. It is the audience share and the AI which is the worry. I don’t think the show is going anywhere..Jodie will do the… Read more »
It is not 4.04 million….it’s 400 thousand viewers…lol. Show is going to be cancelled. Dr. Who died after Peter Capaldi…wonder why?
The current creative team, under the hammer fist of the BBC, have destroyed this beloved show with their identity politics and incompetent writing. They’re reaping what they sow and if they don’t care to return to what made it great, then may it be put away and forgotten.
People are losing interest, my friends. Casting a new Doctor may help as usual, but there is one catch.
This time the BBC should consider hiring the actress who commands the screen & will carry this show on her back despite bad writing. The one who will take the series where it needs to be.
As per The Doctor’s Wife(6×07) TARDIS always takes The Doctor where she needs to go. 😉 This is the way.
Sorry, what? I don’t understand what you’re trying to say?
Do you mean that in order to save the show(take it where it needs to be), The Doctor should regenerate into The TARDIS or what?
Well, I’m all for the tall Sexy dark eyed lady Doctor but they also need a new creative team!
The Doctor needs to regenerate back into a Time Lord, or in other words a man. Poor Susan would be horrified to learn that her beloved grandfather had been turned into a woman because of the BBC’s rampant PC fixation
People liked Missy though, and the idea of a female Doctor has been bandied about with varying degrees of seriousness since 1980. I really think all the general public and fans really want is good, fun writing. DW has ALWAYS been hit or miss, but there’s a whole universe of sins good characterization and memorable dialogue can paper over. The production vlaues were upped gain, but those crucial writing elements aren’t in abundance now, so the show’s flaws are being laid bare more and more.
You are totally wrong on this quote. The correct dialogue as per “The Doctor’s Wife” series 06 episode o3 is as follows.
DOCTOR: You didn’t always take me where I wanted to go.
TARDIS: No, but I always took you where you needed to go.
So please, if you are going to quote something to make your point, choose a correct quote.