Various BBC Studios production teams are preparing submissions to be the new home of Doctor Who next year
The Doctor Who tender process continues with the next milestone tomorrow, the 2nd of October at 2pm. That’s the deadline for interested parties to express their interest in being the next team to lead one of the BBC’s flagship shows – Doctor Who. And it appears there’s already some surprises on the way about who’s entering.
We already knew that BBC Studios would be entering a bid to take back production of the show. But now it turns out that the company, which acts as the BBC’s commercial arm for creating programs, will be entering multiple bids. Jamie Hall, the head of BBC Studios’ Scripted division, that there are “one, potentially two, companies” within the group developing pitches for the job. Rather that compete with each other to represent BBC Studios in the tender process, Hall has cleared the way for all interested BBC groups to make their own tenders for the job, saying he’s “100%” happy to make multiple submissions.
So what does this mean in practice? Well, Hall’s Scripted division is made up of three department, and several production companies that, while whole owned by BBC Studios, operate like small independents. Any one of these could among the teams making sure to have their papers in by 2pm tomorrow.
BBC Studios Scripted is composed of three major in-house labels, which make shows both for the BBC and other channels
BBC Studios Comedy
Comedy is unlikely to be among those looking to take over Doctor Who. It’s true its remit is wider than the name suggests, having been involved in projects like Good Omens and Inside No. 9, as well as more obviously comedic fare like Mandy and Here We Go. However, Blogtor would guess the BBC won’t be keen to place a ‘comedy’ label on the show.
BBC Studios Drama
Drama was the home of Doctor Who from its return in 2005 until the end of the Whittaker era in 2022. (This does mean that if they win, they could potentially dub the 2028/9 season the headache inducing “Series 14.”) Other shows currently made by Drama include EastEnders, Silent Witness, and Casualty. They’re very likely to among those entering tenders for the show now.
BBC Studios Fiction
The newest of BBC Studios Scripted’s divisions, Fiction was set up only last year. Josh Cole, whose CV includes being the executive producer of Good Omens, heads up a team dedicated to producing high end, BAFTA worthy television. Prison drama anthology Time is the first show so far to transfer to Fiction. Making a pitch for Doctor Who may well appeal to a fresh new team actively looking to expand their slate. That said, its eligibility depends on the interpretation of the rules laid out in the tender invitation. In its own right, Fiction simply hasn’t been around long enough to establish the track record the invitation requires.
The BBC Studios Scripted banner also cover six production companies which are owned by BBC Studios but operate independently
Baby Cow
Steve Coogan heads up Baby Cow as its Creative Director, and naturally the company produces all his shows such as Alan Partridge and The Trip. However, it does also make other projects too, such as Alan Carr’s Changing Ends and Rob Brydon’s upcoming sitcom Bill’s Included.
Baby Cow’s emphasis on comedies does make it seem unlikely to be chasing Doctor Who. Unless, of course, Steve Coogan has decided he fancies a go in the TARDIS himself…
Clerkenwell Films
Clerkenwell have a long and impressively varied list of credits. This includes hard-hitting. award winning dramas like Baby Reindeer and Matt Smith’s The Death of Bunny Munro. They probably have the most experience in science fiction, fantasy, and genre productions too. The End of F***ing World, Misfits, The Aliens, and Paradox were all Clerkenwell projects.
Firebird Pictures
Firebird describe themselves as having “a focus on character-led contemporary series,” which suggests Doctor Who may not appeal to them as fitting their particular niche. There’s no denying the quality of their productions, though, which include psychological thrillers The Jetty and Wilderness, both starring Jenna Coleman, the equally dark and complicated Wild Cherries, and ‘true story’ historical drama Outrageous.
Another factor in Firebird’s case is that their preference for one-off mini-series means they likely won’t qualify under the tender rules. Those require the bidder to have made at least one series that lasted three seasons of at least six episodes each.
House Productions
Another element of the invitation to tender is the BBC’s desire that the new Doctor Who be ‘cinematic.’ House Productions certainly qualifies on that front, with their slate a mix of big screen films and prestige television dramas. Its feature films include critical acclaimed productions like papal drama Conclave, and harrowing concentration camp film Zone of Interest. On television, they’re best known for Sherwood, currently making the third season of the Nottingham set crime drama starring David Morrissey.
Lookout Point
Lookout Point have one of the most eclectic portfolios in the whole BBC Studios family, which may make them a prime candidate for the Doctor Who job. They’re responsible for the bleak psychological drama Happy Valley, as well as comedies like Am I Being Unreasonable? and The Power of Parker. They’ve also demonstrated the kind of quirky charm you’d expect from Doctor Who in projects like fantastical highway-woman adventure series Renegade Nell, and sapphic historical drama Gentleman Jack.
As with some other production companies on this list, Lookout Point’s success seems to be in enabling creatives to bring their personal vision to life. This does suggest that if they were to make a tender, it would likely be because some writer/producer in their orbit had approached them with a vision for the show.
Sid Gentle Films
Sid Gentle Films have perhaps some of the most experience of genre television on this list. They’re the makers of Extraordinary, for instance, about a world where everyone has superpowers except Jen, as well as horror anthology Likely Stories, and alternative history detective series SS-GB. Other projects include serial killer horror series Ragdoll, and of course, Killing Eve. The award winning series was one of the BBC’s biggest hits of the past decade and launched star Jodie Comer to international fame.
By the end of this month, eligible candidates will have signed their NDAs, and there will likely be little more to tell until the end of the year
Fans should brace themselves for another period of the tender process going dark, starting from tomorrow. Once the submissions are in, the BBC will have until the 9th of October to decide which applicants are eligible under the rules to go forward to the next round. Those that do will have until the 23rd to submit their short editorial proposals, sketching out their ideas for Doctor Who. In parallel to that, though, they’ll have to sign their Non-Disclosure Agreements with the BBC. Even without those NDAs, competitors will not want too much about their plans reaching the press, and their rivals.
Perhaps later this year, as head towards the finish line, our old friends unnamed “sources” will begin to discretely tell the papers some details to create a sense of inevitable momentum. But we may not even get an acknowledgement of who’s on the short list until then.
As is so often the case with the development process, we shouldn’t take an absence of exciting news as meaning a lack of exciting work happening behind closed doors. But Blogtor Who will stand ready to fill you in with everything there is to know, as details emerge.
