We’re a few months removed from the BBC officially parted ways with Bad Wolf and Russell T Davies for the future of Doctor Who. The broadcaster then put the series out to tender. This allows other producers and companies to bid and pitch for the chance to take it over. Now, according to a report from Deadline, we know what the BBC are specifically asking for. These include the usual “good writing” and “back of the sofa scares,” but also “brave” storytelling. It sounds like they’ll take anything halfway competent.
The BBC hopes for the series to return for 2028-2029 television year and has given the following guidelines for tenderers. Doctor Who should remain “relevant, surprising, brave and inspiring for both long-standing fans and new audiences.” Oh, is that all? Piece o’ piss, then.
Other than that, the public broadcaster doesn’t seem to have much of a care beyond that. “We are flexible in the way the series is structured i.e. serialised or ‘story-of-the-week’ and the number of episodes which make up the series,” the BBC said. “We are not necessarily looking to work to a strict showrunner model and would expect once in production that the series will also use episodic writers.”
For the show’s visuals, they’d like “cinematic, distinctive, and ambitious, capable of competing for audience attention in a highly competitive global market.” Basically, they just want it to look on a par with what came before/other sci-fi series. They want prospective producers to create “at least one” companion while the series stories should “transport audiences to extraordinary times and places, ranging from historical settings to distant futures, alien worlds, and contemporary Earth.”
So…they want Doctor Who, sounds like. The good news, it seems the best idea will win. Or the highest bidder, I guess. The bad news, the BBC has nothing to add. They just want the show that makes them all the money worldwide. Anyone got money and an idea?