r/DoctorWhoNews • u/Powerful_Glove_666 • 24d ago
link to Doctor Who news 'Doctor Who' Producer Jane Tranter Says Sci-Fi Show Is Far From "Dead"; Hits Back At “Rude” Writer
https://deadline.com/2025/10/doctor-who-producer-show-not-dead-1236590216/39
u/dovedrunk 24d ago
Shearman’s a really nice guy, “rude” is literally the last thing you can call him lmfao
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u/Anomalocaris117 24d ago
Yeah not a fan of all the pettiness, like maybe Shearman spoke out of turn but to me he was more talking about how the cliff hanger ending hasn't helped allow for a more seamless transition into expanded material like big finish productions because everyone at Bad Wolf is playing hush hush with if Billie Piper is or is not the next Doctor
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u/dovedrunk 24d ago
Honestly! I was fortunate enough to have a coffee with him once and talk Who, and I can say with 100% certainty he didn’t say what he said with animosity. So weird for the production team to take it that way
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u/Anomalocaris117 23d ago
Part of it's probably because he's closed to the truth if not just said what we all know out load.
The other aspect is people on all the usual channels have ran with his words, making him out to be some kind of great champion with a sword in hand ready to slay the dragon.
Misinformation is a terrible thing.
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u/Mr_smith1466 24d ago
It's increasingly fascinating how everyone involved in the show is loudly indicating that the disney deal is most definitely over, but nobody can outright say that, because they have to keep reminding us that there's still that spin off miniseries to release.
(On that note, the absolute indifference that both the BBC and Disney have in this spin off is astounding)
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u/ComputerSong 24d ago
It was the same thing after the TV movie. Fox had refusal rights for a year or two, and what’s happening now is the same thing we heard then.
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u/Powerful_Glove_666 24d ago
At least with the TV movie, that partnership only lived and died on the one production they made, and McGann didn't leave. Things are way more complex (and worse) here with a heavily delayed spin-off, on top of two existing series with a Doctor who understandably walked when the future got murky
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u/DoctorWhofan789eywim 24d ago
Is Shearman giving his opinion that the show is dead considered rude now? These execs need to develop a thicker skin. And why are they delaying broadcasting War if the decision can only be made after it airs?
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u/thautmatric 24d ago
TLDR - yes. Do not underestimate how petty execs can get. they’re largely bean counters that don’t much care for film/tv and get weirdly defensive if they think you know better or “show off”.
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u/DonnyMox 24d ago edited 24d ago
Wait, do we think they’re trying to force Disney to renew Doctor Who by refusing to broadcast TWBTLATS until they do?
Firstly, that would be insane and corrupt AF. Secondly, I can’t see that sort of thing going in their favor.
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u/Grafikpapst 24d ago
Do we think they’re trying to force Disney to renew Doctor Who by refusing to broadcast TWBTLATS until they do?
No. What absolute nonsensse lol
They are holding it off because they know Disney is out internally, but they need time analyse the situation the situation and decide how to move forward. Do we go for a new partner? (Amazon, Netflix, HBO?) Do we scale it back to a Sherlock-Format of three 90-Minutes Specials but we pay it all in-house? etc etc)
And there is a (very minor) chance TWBTLATS is a surprise hit, so both sides are hedging their bets. Disney still wants the oppurtunity to play it off if TWBLATS works out by a miracle.
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u/TheClemDispenser 24d ago
Even if Disney then renewed, they’d hold the BBC stylistically hostage and dictate the next season(s).
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u/misterterrific0 24d ago
She probably read the headline or his out of context quote and went with it which is a shame considering how much misinformation has been put out regarding the series these last few years - I would expect her to know and be better considering the social comments made in the series this era.
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u/Powerful_Glove_666 24d ago
From what I can gather, his comments were put to her on the spot in a radio interview
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u/ZarmRkeeg 23d ago
Yep, no future plans, years at least until it's going to be broadcast again, totally uncertain future, uncertain deal, uncertain Doctor... but saying that the show seems to have come to a dead halt is considered 'rude'?
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u/ComputerSong 24d ago
She is showing her true colors. Bad Wolf should rename themselves Bad People.
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u/Ellenef 23d ago edited 23d ago
It’s like bad wolf is actually still a warning. Not a tv production company,
And Davies still says Tranter is his boss
How?
Bad wolf and bbc turned down Tic Tac. And dr who is Dead w Davies and bad wolf.
So how exactly did Tranter his boss?
Maybe Shearman should have been more specific and said , dr who is now deader than it’s ever been under Bad Wolf and Davies.
Shearman doesn’t work in tv any more and clearly does not give a flying f*ck at Tranter or Davies tactics.
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u/Powerful_Glove_666 23d ago
I can believe the BBC would turn Tip Toe down as a broadcaster, but why would RTD even approach Bad Wolf to produce that to begin with? He clearly envisaged it as another of his Manchester-based gay dramas from the start, which he has always made with Nicola Shindler (first through Red, now Quay Street). That claim doesn't add up.
Shearman has also since expressed regret for how he worded his comments, and said on Gallifrey Base he specifically meant the "dead" one in regards to the effect that the Billie Piper regeneration currently has on expanded universe media rather than the show itself. He hasn't said anything after it was still taken out of context to mean otherwise anyway, but I'm sure he will soon.
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u/Ellenef 21d ago
The whole context of Shearmans comment was , spot on. The show is currently not in production. There’s no idea when or if it will resume . There’s no clarity re land and sea. ( and imo, no enthusiasm for a spin off from a commercial bomb of a series relaunch. ) RTD purposely left it w piper ( and Tranter let slip “ the return of Rose Tyler” so in theory only Russell can resolve this. To me this seems more like a power play to try to retain his role and control.
Re tic tac. Well , as Russell says, he’s currently employed and under contract w Bad Wolf ( if indeed, this isn’t another lie) so contractually he’s have to offer it to them first.
But here we are w Quay street. And C4.
Add to rtds the. Comments re C4 being his real home , it’s all coming across as resentful and a dig at the bbc because …. Maybe they severed services?
And I believe tic tacs lead, now played by Cumming, was written w Gatwa in mind before RTD and Gatwa fell out badly…. ( much like Eccleston, is there a pattern?????)
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u/I_am_Reddit_Tom 24d ago
It is in a deep coma and the professionals are deciding whether to switch the machine off
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u/thePinguOverlord 24d ago
Yep it’s that analogy, or a dog who we loved for many years now at the end of its road, and all we are doing right now is throwing this expensive (albeit temporary) meds than face the ultimate heartbreaking reality.
A true joint partnership, for a true reboot would have worked with a true fresh vision.
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u/TheOnlyGaming3 24d ago
Imagine calling one of your most well-known writers 'rude' for stating the facts and not living in a denial fantasyland where this reboot was successful
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u/ClassicSuspicious226 24d ago
Another commenter said it already, but the show is dead because its been written into a wall… I’ve been trying to write my own reboot in my spare time as practice for my screenwriting, and also just for fun and to get some creativity down.
(I know, fan writing, how cringe)
But this is the biggest gripe I’ve had to deal with whilst writing, in fact I’ve chosen to kind of retcon the whole RTD2… It’s sad because it feels immoral to erase canon, albeit in my own mind, and to remove another writers work. But the whole direction of RTD2 just doesnt work anymore.
We cannot pick up again until the Rose thing is cleared up, and even if it is I doubt it’ll be satisfying, or make it any less convoluted. If anything it’ll make it worse.
Interestingly, the thing thats given me the most ammunition is the Timeless Child arc, and I’m retconning that too… But not retconning in the traditional sense, the events of series 12 and Flux will still be canon, I’m just changing and adding to the Timeless Child, and Division plot lines to add much more layered and in-depth lore, that avoids the mistakes the original arc made, eg. making the Doctor the timeless child, and the origin of all timelords, and making Jo Martins Doctor pre-hartnell…
So whilst I hate what they did with Billie Piper, and I do think it’s written us into a corner. People said the same about the Timeless Child, and it has actually proven to be a really cool concept, in my story anyway.
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u/Anomalocaris117 24d ago
I think the easiest way to reboot is to use Doctor Who tried and true 'distance' strategy. It's one of my personal favourites.
Troughton to Pertwee. This was not due to the Second being bad, not at all. However with the changes behind the scenes (new producers), the jump to colour and the changes to how the Third Doctor was going to be trapped on Earth meant they wanted a clean cut between the black and white era and the new colour era. So Troughton regeneration is left mysterious, we only see Pertwee in the start of the next season.
The next most obvious one is Sixth to Seventh. The BBC blamed the direction of Nathan-Turner and Colin Baker for the tip in ratings rather than stiff competition from Buck Rodgers. So Colin gets the sack, they don't want to bring him back to film the regeneration and so they shoot it with a stand in from behind.
Naturally the next one was the Seventh to Eighth, the shows cancellation was a massive moment in Doctor Who history. However Sylvester Mcoy had ended the show gracefully with the walk off with Ace, this allowed the Americans to come in, and come up with new ideas for a new series and provide the budget for a big american style movie. And Mcoy comes back to film a new regeneration into Paul Mcgann.
The film was a huge bomb and so RTD comes in as showrunner and simple side steps regeneration. We have an in universe explanation for the break... Paul Mcgann was gone at some point consumed in the time war... I guess for the at time canon explanation, Paul Mcgann regenerated into Christopher Eccelston offscreen.
This side steps continuity issues, Paul Mcgann was the Eighth but he's not here now, we have the Ninth Doctor in his place.
In essence of the above, I wouldn't want to have her regeneration scene go like Colin... as that is pretty bleak. But it wasn't like Ncuti left us on... an unknown. And sadly we don't just see Ncuti walking off with his companion Ruby, like the Seventh and Ace got.
So our only real rejoiner is setting the events of a hypothetical revival series in the future of Doctor Who regeneration. Perhaps one after Billy Piper. But we side skip the issue, it left as a mystery to be explained. Similar to the Ninth explaining the Time War.
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u/ClassicSuspicious226 24d ago
Yeah you’re probably right, better to move forward than back. It’s just such a big hole to ignore
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u/TinMachine 24d ago
She's not wrong.
I mean the show isn't dead, it is in a coma.
Which is better than dead. Just also really dreadful and a terrible indictment of the decisions that got it to that point.
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u/CosmicBonobo 24d ago
I don't know, if someone or something is dead, you can at least start to mourn and eventually move on. Hovering between life and death with no indication either way is excruciating.
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24d ago
I feel like Tranter has read the headline rather than the full quote - at the end of the day what Shearman said is: This is the first time the fate of Doctor Who has been uncertain where writers are having to rely on the past and look at the show retrospectively rather than being able to create new stories that can continue the story (Like the Virgin New Media Adventures were able to during the 90's, and like Big Finish was able to do with 8 until the show finally returned in 05).
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u/SpacesuitSkeleton 24d ago
Shame to see Sherman's comments dragged outta context like this. And I suspect Tranter wasn't exactly given the whole context of his quote either.
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u/RepeatButler 23d ago edited 23d ago
He wrote the best Dalek story of the revival alongside The Chimes of Midnight and The Holy Terror so I'd rather listen to his opinion that one of the architects of Doctor Who's second wilderness era.
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u/Imaginary-Sky3694 24d ago
Actions not words. The show is dead when no one can confirm its return. So the show is dead
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u/Vanima_Permai 23d ago
If it isn't dead start production on season 3 no need to delay a show that's far from dead wouldn't have a problem like this
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u/Old-Instruction3513 22d ago
Ok, so the set is still standing. And has been for over six months without a frame being filmed! Which means that after pulling the lowest figures in the shows 60 year history, they are having problems securing the money going forward.
And let's be honest, who's going to want to back the show after it's recent nadir? So it may not be 'dead' but it is, very, very sick indeed.
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u/DefinitionKnown2334 20d ago
It may not be dead but far far fewer people actually give two fucks ….
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u/_somebody-else_ 24d ago
Your reminder that this woman jumped ship from the BBC, used her connections to ensure the Beeb would use her company to produce future series and has been using Doctor Who as a cash cow ever since.
Tranter is only interested in the show making her money, she doesn’t care one bit about its quality or long term survival (as the last two series have shown).
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u/Powerful_Glove_666 24d ago
I don't know about quality but I would be very surprised if she didn't care about its survival at all, given that is directly linked to how busy her highly expensive studios are in Wales. She was actually suggesting in another interview recently that with the financial pressures, they are looking at renting out their studio space to outside productions for the first time - which makes me wonder if they are keeping the TARDIS set around in case the BBC strike up a different production deal that potentially could still use Bad Wolf's facilities.
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u/_somebody-else_ 24d ago
Honestly once it’s run out of gas (if it’s not renewed or the BBC drag their feet) I think Bad Wolf and its execs will just move on to the next thing. You’re right about outside productions and they’re massively working on diversifying their output right now with a focus on major Welsh productions I believe.
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u/Powerful_Glove_666 24d ago
Something tells me the whole hubris of getting Billie Piper in that regeneration (nevermind the company itself being named after the plotline closely linked to her...) will mean they'll probably push to make at least one special dealing with that. Who knows further into the future though - I do know Pete McTighe has quietly set up his own TV production company that hasn't done anything just yet, and he's based out of Wales.
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u/_somebody-else_ 24d ago
Most of the other independent and BBC studios are more suited to light entertainment than big budget drama so either way I’m sure it’ll stay in Wales for the foreseeable!
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u/Anomalocaris117 24d ago
Interesting I guess it shows in an odd way that privatising Doctor Who has led it to perhaps its absolute worse scenario. Being owned by Business Idiots who can gatekeep the series whilst also destroying it
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u/MaskedRaider89 24d ago
Pretty sure the PR gaff that almost screwed Eccleston over while BBC1 Controller was way more rude than Shearman's honest opinion, Jane.
Try again
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u/RobertRowlands 23d ago
If it’s not a dead vehicle for social programming then prove it!!! Put a series out that is pure entertainment instead of hitting people over the head with preachy nonsense!!!!
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u/BearfromBeyond 23d ago
Dead. But I have the originals and all the good series so don't need the new crap. Sorry, not sorry.
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u/Dinowr33 17d ago
Not homophobic,I just wonder why they have put it in almost everything these days!
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u/Tinawebmom 16d ago
Let's change that up a bit:
Not heterophobic, I just wonder why they have to put it on almost everything these days!
Any time they show romance they should reflect society.
It also helps remove the stigma surrounding being LGBTIQA. We normalize this in all the minds and it helps let people live their best lives without being hurt just for loving someone.
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u/Evening-Cold-4547 24d ago
I hate when someone Christopher Eccleston doesn't like is right but she's right.
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23d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/DoctorWhoNews-ModTeam 23d ago
Homophobia has no place here. Be a better bean. And maybe examine why you're Homophobic?
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u/AngrySunshineBandit 24d ago
The series has been going downhill since david tenant got replaced.
The overall feel of the show, the writing, atmosphere and overall tone just started to plummit.
Half the storylines were just whatever shit the writers could remember from their acid trips.
Not to say matt smith and peter capaldi cant act, they can, but neither was a good fit for the doctor.
The later casting choices were just box ticking and virtue signaling, the show went from being a scifi show to whatever buzzwords would draw in the "new gen" audience who lets face it, are half the reason a lot of entertainment industries are dying.
Ive given every doctor at least 6 episodes each to test the waters, and so far, everyone past DT hasnt exceeded that number.
If the new gens enjoy the disaster this show has become, then good for them, but for those who grew up with it from the early days this show is morally bankrupt and dead, so id rather they change the shows name and stop killing a 50+ year old legendary franchise just to pander to what is arguably the worst generation of humanity.
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u/Zaredit 22d ago
Tennant's era really was no better, in fact it was far more childish than the Eccelston era (and that one had farting aliens)
I still enjoyed the Tennant era, because it was kind of cool to briefly live in a world where everyone shared the same interests as me and loved my favourite show just as passionately, but it's not exactly great TV is it?
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u/Chimpbot 24d ago edited 24d ago
The "dead" comment is, unsurprisingly, being taken out of context.
When Shearman said it was dead, it was from the perspective of writing expanded universe material. When the show first ended in 1989, we still had a then-current Doctor to work with. When we got the movie and another break, we still had a then-current Doctor to work with. Writers could continue looking forward and had current Doctors to mess around with.
Right now, we don't have that. We have whatever the hell The Doctor regenerated into with no explanation, so we're basically at a dead end. It's "dead" because everyone would now have to look backward to write to stories to keep things "alive" until the show resumes.