Doctor Who, the iconic 62-year-old British sci-fi show, has just earned its very first Emmy nomination for the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards. Following Ncuti Gatwa’s abrupt departure, Billie Piper’s surprise regeneration, and the show’s unconfirmed renewal status, the future of Doctor Who has never felt quite so precarious. This Emmy nomination couldn’t have come at a better time.
While Doctor Who might not be competing for the biggest Emmy awards, with shows like Andor, The Bear, Severance, Shrinking, The Last of Us, The Studio, and more duking it out for Best Drama, Best Comedy, and the Best Actor/Actress categories, Doctor Who has earned a nomination for Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming, alongside other nominees Bridgerton, Étoile, Severance, and Will Trent.
The nominated routine, “There’s Always A Twist,” comes from the show’s Beatles-inspired episode, “The Devil’s Chord,” featured in Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the Doctor. It’s a big, original musical number, set across several sets with dozens of dancers, including two well-known ballroom dancing legends. It’s a great reminder of what Doctor Who has to offer: the best campy, fun, timey-wimey shenanigans.
What This Means For Doctor Who
Doctor Who Has Been Nominated For Other Major Awards Before
While this Emmy nomination is most welcome, it’s not likely to have an impact on any potential renewal deals between the BBC and Disney.
Still, it proves that Doctor Who has well and truly broken through in America’s mainstream media landscape. Before streaming, Doctor Who bounced around between North American networks, never fully capitalizing on its potential.
Previous seasons of Doctor Who have been nominated for (and won) the Saturn Awards, the Hugo Awards, the UK’s National Television Awards, and, of course, Britain’s highest TV honor, the BAFTAs.
Now, Classic Who episodes are available to stream on BritBox, while the 2005 revival episodes are available on HBO Max (note that these will be removed from the service on July 31). The latest seasons are exclusive to Disney+ because of the BBC’s and Disney’s co-production deal, making this nomination possible.
While this first-ever Primetime Emmy nomination is a big deal, it’s certainly not Doctor Who‘s first awards nomination. Previous seasons of Who have been nominated for (and won) the Saturn Awards, the Hugo Awards, the UK’s National Television Awards, and, of course, Britain’s highest TV honor, the BAFTAs.
In 2006, Doctor Who took home the BAFTA for Best Drama Series and Best Writer. It won Best Writer again in 2008 for Steven Moffat’s “Blink,” and in 2009, Doctor Who won the BAFTA for Best Editing Fiction/Entertainment.
Our Take On Doctor Who’s Award-Nominated Future
Surely, The BBC And Disney Can’t Leave It Like This
It’s worrisome that we haven’t heard anything about Doctor Who‘s future, especially given the way the last series ended. Billie Piper’s potential role as the 16th Doctor needs to be explained. Ending the show on such a massive cliffhanger, one that could have incredible implications for Doctor Who‘s lore, would be a travesty.
Related
Doctor Who Won’t Survive Unless It Brings Back This Key Classic Era Element
The future of Doctor Who could be saved if the show simply reflects on its past successes and brings back this important part of the classic era.
The news that Doctor Who‘s NuWho era will be leaving HBO Max later this month is simultaneously painful but encouraging. It is, of course, a major blow for Max subscribers, but it could potentially mean that Disney+ is negotiating to bring it to their platform. If that turns out to be true, there’s every chance the BBC and Disney can reach an accord for a new season, too.
Hopefully, we’ll hear more news soon. Doctor Who is now an Emmy-nominated show; if it has to come to an end, it deserves to go out on a high note.
Doctor Who
5/10
- Release Date
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December 25, 2023
- Directors
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Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie
