The way Netflix cancels shows at the tip of a hat, their involvement would be anything but “ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come”… Netflix has a big reach, that’s for sure. I just doubt their commitment beyond the next fiscal quarter report.
As for people involved,
Random youtuber with no TV drama experience — that’ll be a no from me. I know a handful of those have taken the step to directing movies in the past years, but there’s a long stretch from Fallout commentary to taking the reins of a (faltering) classic science fiction show.
Charlie Brooker (“the guy who does Black Mirror”) — not very likely, he has his own, fairly weighty show to maintain.
Jordan Peele — this is a man doing multimillion dollar Hollywood movies. I highly doubt he would be a realistic candidate, but if he did join as showrunner or producer, against all odds? I bet some external investor purse strings would loosen right there. Then again, counterpoint: he has worked almost exclusively in the horror genre for the past decade.
Sorry, humour doesn’t always translate in text only 🙂
I don’t think a licensed show like Doctor Who would count as super profitable compared to IP like Stranger things that they [edit: Netflix] own wholly? They’re pretty secretive about the factors behind their programming choices, so I dunno.
I think they really decide based on churn. What brings viewers in. So the question is, would Dr Who bring new subscribers into Netflix, or is that audience already there? If they’re already there, that means they wouldn’t get enough new subscribers. The thing is, people generally don’t leave Netflix. I haven’t willingly watched Netflix in a few years, but we still have it because my wife uses it. She watches a lot of true crime/documentaries. So, they are getting our money, but if it were up to me, I wouldn’t pay them a dime.
If we weren’t subscribers, I’m honestly not sure if Dr Who would bring us in. It would have to be really good. It captured our imaginations in the Nine, Ten, and Eleven years, but while Twelve and Thirteen were well acted, the story seemed to fall flat and it just wasn’t interesting anymore. We like what they did — older Doctor, woman Doctor, Doctor of colour, LGBTQ+ Dcotor, all those things are well and good, but the stories just weren’t engaging like they were before. We stuck with it because we love the brand and we loved what it was, but it was too little too seldomly, like a few episodes every couple years or more. Eventually we were just like “oh Dr Who’s back, you in? Nah? Yeah me either, let’s watch whatever else instead.” So it would have to really do something special to bring us back, maybe others as well, I dunno.
I think they really decide based on churn. What brings viewers in.
Could well be their MO. The last big streamers have the market pretty well divvied up between them, and they may just be fighting over the viewers that are still on the fence? Like you say, your household still subscribe.
But let’s say the BBC got smart and offered up all of Doctor Who, from 1963 to now. Boom, 41 seasons plus a couple years’ specials available on one platform*. Especially now that the audience has to wait a few years for new material, wouldn’t that be enough to attract Netflix — activating a few dormant subscriptions, pulling in the fanbase, including new viewers who need to see what the fuzz is about?
That’s very much fantasy football, of course, but if the issue for the BBC is to generate interest in the show, among viewers and streaming partners, making the whole of it available in one place seems the way to go.
* Let’s ignore for now what a legal headache it would be clearing all those classic serial rights from writers’ estates. Also, that nuWho series 1-13 is now with AMC+ in North America, and the two most recent seasons are still on Disney+.
At least the best of Dr Who (or nuWho) is on Blu-ray and DVD. Since I really only care about Nine, Ten, and Eleven, I can just collect those episodes on disc and just have them.
While I don’t much like the “nu” prefix (I know it means “new” but I feel like it’s a bit derogatory; we saw this 25 years ago with “nu-metal”), I guess it’s accurate. Pre-Nine (or Eight, since he was just in the TV movie), or Classic Who, is kind of a different product. I ask my mother and other Boomers about Dr Who, and they say it’s a silly programme they could never get into, but they like modern drama/action stuff, and I try to recommend Dr Who (or nuWho if you prefer that term) and they won’t even give it a chance. Like, “just watch Blink,” it’s a Doctor-lite episode and has excellent tension and scares, or something like Midnight (another Ten story) or my personal favourite, The Girl in the Fireplace. Dr Who/nuWho isn’t all at the level of those three, but enough of it is that it keeps you watching.
I just wish they took Torchwood a bit more seriously. R-rated Whoniverse stuff was awesome, but it didn’t do much. The first two series were spectacular, if a bit cheesy. Third and fourth, a bit less so. Then Barrowman went and got himself canceled and now he’s past his prime. But his Harkness character was at his best alongside Ten. Of course, those looking for more David Tennant can just watch Broadchurch… or Good Omens.
Ha, I do feel the same way about the “nuWho” handle, and for the same reason. It’s hard not to think of Limp Bizkit 😰 We sort of needed a way to separate the revived show from the original run, though, and this unfortunate term won out.
But then, Who is often goofy. I can understand why some people are turned off by that initially. We forget sometimes that it’s a family show, or more to the point, started as a children’s show that adults should also be able to sit through. But it always had way more range then that, in part because of the silliness. Dark episodes hit harder when the Doctor was fighting farting aliens the week before. Then all of a sudden they’re punching their way through a diamond wall over the course of billions of years.
It’s an acquired taste, for sure, and not for everybody. But it has to be out there for people to watch it and at least try it on for size.
So I stand by the idea that all 60+ years of Doctor Who on one platform would be good for both the show, the streamer, and the audience (outside of the UK). Having a back catalogue like that visible and accessible to a big swathe of the public (depending on where it would land) could keep it relevant while there is now new episodes made. Certainly more so than physical media.
The way Netflix cancels shows at the tip of a hat, their involvement would be anything but “ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come”… Netflix has a big reach, that’s for sure. I just doubt their commitment beyond the next fiscal quarter report.
As for people involved,
I was kinda taking the piss with those names and references.
Netflix does cancel series a lot, but not the super profitable ones.
Sorry, humour doesn’t always translate in text only 🙂
I don’t think a licensed show like Doctor Who would count as super profitable compared to IP like Stranger things that they [edit: Netflix] own wholly? They’re pretty secretive about the factors behind their programming choices, so I dunno.
I think they really decide based on churn. What brings viewers in. So the question is, would Dr Who bring new subscribers into Netflix, or is that audience already there? If they’re already there, that means they wouldn’t get enough new subscribers. The thing is, people generally don’t leave Netflix. I haven’t willingly watched Netflix in a few years, but we still have it because my wife uses it. She watches a lot of true crime/documentaries. So, they are getting our money, but if it were up to me, I wouldn’t pay them a dime.
If we weren’t subscribers, I’m honestly not sure if Dr Who would bring us in. It would have to be really good. It captured our imaginations in the Nine, Ten, and Eleven years, but while Twelve and Thirteen were well acted, the story seemed to fall flat and it just wasn’t interesting anymore. We like what they did — older Doctor, woman Doctor, Doctor of colour, LGBTQ+ Dcotor, all those things are well and good, but the stories just weren’t engaging like they were before. We stuck with it because we love the brand and we loved what it was, but it was too little too seldomly, like a few episodes every couple years or more. Eventually we were just like “oh Dr Who’s back, you in? Nah? Yeah me either, let’s watch whatever else instead.” So it would have to really do something special to bring us back, maybe others as well, I dunno.
Could well be their MO. The last big streamers have the market pretty well divvied up between them, and they may just be fighting over the viewers that are still on the fence? Like you say, your household still subscribe.
But let’s say the BBC got smart and offered up all of Doctor Who, from 1963 to now. Boom, 41 seasons plus a couple years’ specials available on one platform*. Especially now that the audience has to wait a few years for new material, wouldn’t that be enough to attract Netflix — activating a few dormant subscriptions, pulling in the fanbase, including new viewers who need to see what the fuzz is about?
That’s very much fantasy football, of course, but if the issue for the BBC is to generate interest in the show, among viewers and streaming partners, making the whole of it available in one place seems the way to go.
* Let’s ignore for now what a legal headache it would be clearing all those classic serial rights from writers’ estates. Also, that nuWho series 1-13 is now with AMC+ in North America, and the two most recent seasons are still on Disney+.
At least the best of Dr Who (or nuWho) is on Blu-ray and DVD. Since I really only care about Nine, Ten, and Eleven, I can just collect those episodes on disc and just have them.
While I don’t much like the “nu” prefix (I know it means “new” but I feel like it’s a bit derogatory; we saw this 25 years ago with “nu-metal”), I guess it’s accurate. Pre-Nine (or Eight, since he was just in the TV movie), or Classic Who, is kind of a different product. I ask my mother and other Boomers about Dr Who, and they say it’s a silly programme they could never get into, but they like modern drama/action stuff, and I try to recommend Dr Who (or nuWho if you prefer that term) and they won’t even give it a chance. Like, “just watch Blink,” it’s a Doctor-lite episode and has excellent tension and scares, or something like Midnight (another Ten story) or my personal favourite, The Girl in the Fireplace. Dr Who/nuWho isn’t all at the level of those three, but enough of it is that it keeps you watching.
I just wish they took Torchwood a bit more seriously. R-rated Whoniverse stuff was awesome, but it didn’t do much. The first two series were spectacular, if a bit cheesy. Third and fourth, a bit less so. Then Barrowman went and got himself canceled and now he’s past his prime. But his Harkness character was at his best alongside Ten. Of course, those looking for more David Tennant can just watch Broadchurch… or Good Omens.
Ha, I do feel the same way about the “nuWho” handle, and for the same reason. It’s hard not to think of Limp Bizkit 😰 We sort of needed a way to separate the revived show from the original run, though, and this unfortunate term won out.
But then, Who is often goofy. I can understand why some people are turned off by that initially. We forget sometimes that it’s a family show, or more to the point, started as a children’s show that adults should also be able to sit through. But it always had way more range then that, in part because of the silliness. Dark episodes hit harder when the Doctor was fighting farting aliens the week before. Then all of a sudden they’re punching their way through a diamond wall over the course of billions of years.
It’s an acquired taste, for sure, and not for everybody. But it has to be out there for people to watch it and at least try it on for size.
So I stand by the idea that all 60+ years of Doctor Who on one platform would be good for both the show, the streamer, and the audience (outside of the UK). Having a back catalogue like that visible and accessible to a big swathe of the public (depending on where it would land) could keep it relevant while there is now new episodes made. Certainly more so than physical media.