To say Chris Chibnall’s time as the Doctor Who showrunner has been divisive would be putting it mildly. His run has been criticised for many reasons like overly political stories with some having forced messages, having dull stories and underdeveloped characters, and a lack of imagination. The criticism was made worst by the Series 12 finale where The Doctor’s backstory was retconned.
I personally have been critical of Chibnall’s run as the showrunner. I agree with much of the criticism levelled against him. Series 11 was the worst series of the modern era and most of the best episodes during his run have been written by other people. Many fans of the show would be happy to see the back of him.
Doctor Who is one of the biggest shows on British television and a cultural icon on the level of James Bond and Harry Potter. There would be a lot of expectations put on whoever becomes the next showrunner but it is a role that allows for a lot of creativity. I look at some candidates that could take on the series.
Tom Bidwell
Tom Bidwell was one half of the team that created the Channel 4’s My Mad Fat Diary and wrote the majority episodes. Bidwell also wrote the critically acclaimed animated miniseries Watership Down and has experience working on BBC shows like Eastenders, Casualty, and Doctors. He ticks a lot of boxes because of his experience with the BBC and the ability to work on many genres.
My Mad Fat Diary was a comedy-drama that was nominated for numerous awards and won prizes from the charity Mind. Its star, Sharon Rooney earned a lot of praise for her role and it was a show that gave Jodie Comer her first recurring role. It was a show that was both humorous with its coming of age issues and hard-hitting when the main character had a relapse. It also had surreal moments like when a head explodes and Jodie Comer screamed.
Bidwell lacks sci-fi experience but can handle comedy, drama, and character development – all necessary qualities for a Doctor Who showrunner. He also has experience with children’s television so he can make something that appeals to a wide audience.
Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell is a man with a wealth of experience with Doctor Who. He has written novels, comics books, audio plays, and most importantly episodes of the show. Cornell wrote the two-partner “Human Nature”/”The Family of Blood,” an acclaimed story where the Doctor had his memory erased and his Time Lord biology suppressed as a way to find from an alien species who were hunting him.
Outside of Doctor Who, Cornell has written episodes of popular genre shows like Robin Hood, Primeval, and Elementary. He has also written episodes of Casualty for the BBC.
Cornell would be a risk because he has never acted as a showrunner before, but his experience and knowledge of the franchise would reassure fans.
Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan is an incredibly experienced writer who has worked on many shows for the BBC. He was a former showrunner on Eastenders and created/co-created of shows like Life on Mars, Hustle, and Dickensian. Whilst Jordan lacks experience in sci-fi, he does have success making shows that have popular appeal and entertain audiences. His previous shows do generally match the tone of Doctor Who because there mostly have a light and breezy tone whilst also having darker moments. Dickensian was pretty fan fiction made by people who can actually write and Jordan could use his literary knowledge for Doctor Who.
Jordan is the oldest candidate on the list and he would be more a safe pair of hands type showrunner and could work on a short term basis.
Dennis Kelly
Dennis Kelly is a writer who has a wide array of credits for TV, film, and theatre. He is most famous for writing the popular Matilda the Musical which won numerous awards including Tonys and Oliviers. He also wrote for the eighth season of Spooks for the BBC and co-wrote the BBC Three sitcom Pulling with Sharon Horgan.
The main reason he would be considered a candidate to showrun Doctor Who is due to his work on Utopia. Utopia was a series that lasted for two seasons on Channel Four. The series follows a group of comic book fans who find a graphic novel that had predicted disasters and makes them a target for a shadowy organisation. Utopia was critically well-received and gained a cult following due to its visuals, dark story, and complex mystery. Amazon Prime has made an American remake.
Jamie Mathieson
Jamie Mathieson is a writer with genre experience and written some solid episodes for Doctor Who. He has written “Flatline,” “The Girl Who Died,” and “Oxygen” with “Flatline” and “Oxygen” gaining a lot of praise. Outside of Doctor Who most of his work has revolved around sci-fi and horror concepts. These include the comedy series Tripped where two friends end up having adventures across parallel universes and he worked on Being Human and the spin-off Becoming Human.
Mathieson can handle big sci-fi concepts and mix them with drama or comedy. This alone makes him a solid candidate to be the Doctor Who showrunner. He would have a good understanding of what makes Doctor Who works.
Dominic Mitchell
Dominic Mitchell was the creator of the BBC Three series In the Flesh. In the Flesh was a horror series that focused on a teenage zombie who tries to re-integrate into society and faces both discrimination and his own personal demons. In the Flesh was a show that earned a cult following and has a similar demographic as Doctor Who. The show won BAFTAs for Best Miniseries and Best Writer – Drama. The reason the show wasn’t renewed for a third season was due to the budget and BBC Three turning into an online channel.
Since writing In the Flesh Mitchell has written an episode of Westworld and he works in both the US and the UK.
Howard Overman
Howard Overman would be a popular choice if he got the Doctor Who gig. Overman is best known for being the creator of Misfits, E4’s popular teen comedy-drama about a group of young offenders on community service who somehow gained superpowers. Misfits was a BAFTA-winning series and earned a cult audience. The show has appeal to fans of Doctor Who and nerdom in general.
Overman was the co-creator two of big-budget shows for BBC One that filled the early evening timeslot on Saturday, the same timeslot Doctor Who used to have. Merlin was a reinterpretation of Arthurian legends with the show focusing on a young Merlin. It lasted for five seasons. Atlantis had a two-season run and was a ratings hit for the BBC.
Overman has moved to making shows abroad. He co-created Future Man for Hulu and was a time-travelling comedy, whilst his current show is a modern adaptation of War of the Worlds. All his experience would fit the role of Doctor Who showrunner.
Emma Reeves
Children’s entertainment used to be a way for writers to cut their teeth. A current writer from the world of children’s television that could step up for Doctor Who is Emma Reeves. Reeves has had a long list of credits working on CBBC shows. She is currently the lead writer of The Worst Witch which is based on Jill Murphy’s popular series of books. The Worst Witch modernised the setting and was able to use more ambitious effects than the ITV version was able to achieve. The show was a hit with its target demographic.
Outside of The Worst Witch, Reeves has worked on many different genres. She was the co-creator of Eve, a children’s sci-fi show about an android living as a teenage girl in the suburbs. Her other credits include working on the Tracy Beaker Franchise, the Victorian-set drama Hetty Feather, and the family sitcom Young Dracula. Being able to write across genres is a skill the Doctor Who showrunner needs to have.
Even if Reeves isn’t seen to be ready to be the next showrunner she should at least be given an opportunity to write a few episodes.
Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley
The writing duo of Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley is one of my top picks to be the next Doctor Who showrunners. Vincent and Brackley are best known as the showrunners of the Channel 4/AMC sci-fi series Humans. Humans was set in an alternative version of Britain where robots are commonplace being used as household assistants, caregivers, factory workers, and even sex work. But four synths were given self-awareness and the series explored the implications of artificial intelligence, with a focus on the cultural and social aspects. There was a great mix of ideas that were used in properties like X-Men, Blade Runners, Surrogates, and The Matrix short “The Second Renaissance.” As the show progressed it became bigger because robots around the world become self-aware and the series went mad in the final episode when humanity and synthkind reach the next stage in human evolution.
As well as making Humans Vincent and Brackley are veterans of the BBC. They were the showrunners of the final two seasons of the spy series Spooks, one of the BBC’s biggest hits. They would know how to navigate the institution. They can make shows that are both populist and have deeper themes.
Toby Whithouse
Last but certainly not least is Toby Whithouse. Whithouse is a veteran from the Davies and Moffatt days, working on both Doctor Who and Touchwood. He is one of the fan favourite candidates for the showrunner role. Whithouse has shown he can write many types of stories for Doctor Who. His first episode was the fan service story “School Reunion” that brought back Sarah-Jane Smith and K-9, he did atmospheric horror with “The God Complex,” and able to make a dystopia story with “The Lies of the Land.” Even the episode “A Town Called Mercy” which seemed like a silly sci-fi Western had depth because of the moral dilemma it presented.
Whilst Whithouse has decent credits for Doctor Who it’s his work outside of the show where he shined. His most popular show was the cult supernatural series Being Human that focused on an unusual set of housemates in Bristol. His Cold War thriller The Game was critically acclaimed and he acted as the series creator of Noughts + Crosses, even though he didn’t write an episode.
Whithouse has the skills of being a producer and a writer, attributes that a Doctor Who showrunner needs, and his experience in various genres makes him a good fit for the series.
