I have no proof of this but my feeling is that the problem is the BBC. They want a known, successful name as showrunner but the known, successful writers/producers have their own things they want to be getting on with. Which is why the ones we've had so far were die hard fans who credit Doctor Who for making them want to be writers in the first place. Newer, lesser known writers may be interested but who knows.
The only name bandied about is Phoebe Waller-Bridge, whose plate is full. I don’t know enough about other productives at the Beeb or ITV that would make a solid choice.
Are they limited to only thinking of British showrunners? I think Joss Whedon for example would make for a great showrunner of "Doctor Who." Whoever did the show "People of Earth." would be a good one as well.
We don’t need Joss involved. Although having an American producer involved who’se used to the 26 episode grind wouldn’t be the worst thing. However, this speaks to the inherent difference to how
Who is authored - a showrunner and who writes, edits and produces the majority of the show and buys scripts that they re-write and rework and some producers - versus an American one-hour show - some EPs who provide direction, a “writer’s room” that works on editing and rewriting, purchasing scripts/ideas/titles and either editing them or wholesale rewriting them.
Whether it’s budgetary or availability, one of the biggest hurdles of
Who is the lengthy turn around times (It’s been probably 7 years since the show came back year-to-date without moving deeper into the year or a large delay) and the “short” seasons. While 13 episodes is vogue now - the perfect bingeable length - decreasing to 10 or a “split season” isn’t going to help things. It’s frustrating. One of the saving graces of
Discovery is that their mid-season finale and mid-season start were two months apart. And they’ve introduced those high-end shorts to literally fill the gap.
I know a lot of this is left up to the vagaries of the BBC production schedule/budget. But I’ll tell you that I know people spilling over with excitement for Jodie as the Doctor that grew tired of the teases and waiting 10 months for the show to come back and haven’t watched. Especially as the show becomes a bigger international hit. I honestly wouldn’t be all that surprised that if a “dark period” comes up in the next decade (I’m almost certain that the BBC will push through to get us to 60 before there’s any hint of the show “ending.”) if BBC America steps in to finance the show themselves.
My largest concern about the show right now isn’t this rumor. It’s that a lot of the folks I know who were jazzed for Jodie, watched the pilot and talked about getting back into Who after dropping off after with late-Smith/Capaldi, have sort of gone radio silent on the show. I don’t think it’s a question of quality, I’ve not seen a lot of complaints from those folks. Just... silence. I wonder how much of it is the shift to waiting for “streaming” and how that hurts viewership.
