“No plans” for Doctor Who spin-off for younger kids
Doctor Who is about to spin-off. If reports are to be believed there could be a UNIT spin-off series coming soon starring Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. And although this remains unconfirmed, that hasn’t stopped fans wondering if Russell T Davies might be preparing to reboot one or both of the previous spin-offs he’s made, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
While Torchwood rumours continue to circulate, it looks like for the time being at least that there won’t be a return to The Sarah Jane Adventures or any shows aimed at younger children – and Davies has put this down to financing.
“It’s an ideal, but we’re coming back to a world in which money in children’s [TV] is in even shorter supply. Even with all the good will in the world, we’d find it very hard to do now, unfortunately. There are fantasy shows – they do do stuff. But our stuff is expensive,” Davies told SFX magazine when asked about The Sarah Jane Adventures which originally ran on the BBC between 2007-2011.
Added Davies: “You also have to keep the spin-offs looking as good as the main show, in order to maintain the entire brand – that’s part of the problem as well. So it’s genuinely tricky. There is no plan at the moment for children’s, and I’m sad about that, but just affording it would be hard.”
So it looks like whatever spin-offs we are going to get will be aimed at a broader audience for now. But who know what the Whoniverse’s future holds, eh?
Doctor Who will return to TV screens in November 2023 with three 60th anniversary specials starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor. He will be joined by Catherine Tate as Donna Noble and Yasmin Finney as Rose. Neil Patrick Harris will also feature.
The first full show starring Ncuti Gatwa will air around Christmas in 2023 with season 14 starring Ncuti as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as his companion Ruby Sunday playing out in 2024.
The 2023 episodes will be the first as part of a new deal between Disney and the BBC to make Disney+ the streaming home of Doctor Who outside the UK.
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