16 Years Later, The Oldest Sci-Fi Show Is Reviving A Risky Strategy

BBC Studios

Doctor Who has always been a kids’ show, but things have shifted a bit, especially since the 2005 reboot. The show has developed a reputation for being a bit too scary for kids, forcing them to “hide behind the sofa,” a term that has become synonymous with the time travel series in British culture.

But not every Doctor Who story has to evoke terror in younger audiences. In fact, the future of the series may lie in a preschool-aged series that tries a risky method: animation.

According to Deadline, the BBC has announced an animated Doctor Who spinoff series will air on CBeebies. CBeebies is much like the Disney Junior equivalent of the BBC: it’s the even younger variant of Children’s BBC (CBBC). This comes soon after Season 2 of Doctor Who, which may or may not be renewed at its U.S. distributor, Disney+.

Doctor Who previously dabbled in animation in the most recent season with the episode “Lux.” | BBC Studios

CBBC is no stranger to Doctor Who content, as it aired The Sarah Jane Adventures, the youth-focused spinoff centered on former companion Sarah Jane Smith. Class, another teen-focused Doctor Who series, aired on BBC Three for a single season in 2016.

Animation isn’t anything new for Doctor Who either. Scream of the Shalka, Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest, and Doctor Who: Dreamland each told original stories in animated form, and the franchise has recently found success using animation to replace previous lost episodes of the show’s 60-plus years of history. More than a dozen serials have either had part or even all of their chapters redone in animation.

Doctor Who’s lost episodes are slowly being recreated through animation. | BBC Studios

While more youth-focused stories and animated series are not new for Doctor Who, a preschool-age series is completely uncharted territory. However, it’s not a totally unprecedented move. Star Wars, a similarly historic sci-fi universe, recently found success with Young Jedi Adventures, a Disney+ original series aimed at young children and set in a completely different era than the other Star Wars series.

This series sounds like it will feature the main character of the Doctor, so it will have at least some canon implication, but because Doctor Who is all about time travel, the series doesn’t have to worry about the timeline: The Doctor could star in multiple seasons of a spinoff and then use the TARDIS to get back exact when they left. The only question is what will this Doctor look like? Ncuti Gatwa, Billie Piper, or someone else entirely?

Doctor Who is now streaming on Disney+.