Doctor Who’s Budget Reportedly Set To Increase to 10 Million per Episode
Broadcast reports that with the Disney+ deal now set in stone, each series could cost £100 million in total (suggesting a 10-episode run).
They state:
Broadcast has spoken to a number of scripted sources who have estimated that the show’s existing £1-3m per episode budget could triple to circa-£10m as the global SVoD strikes up a creative partnership with the BBC from 2023.
The expectation is that both parties are keen to turbocharge the BBC Studios show as Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf prepare to take creative control, with Ncuti Gatwa as the time-travelling doctor.
One individual with knowledge of the deal said that it is an “incredibly exciting” time for the franchise, while another added that the ramping up of production values could help it break into the mainstream in the US.
“Beyond the hardcore fans, Doctor Who has never quite became a broad appeal show there,” he said. “But with the right investment on Disney+, Russell has a bigger blank piece of paper to really do something different.”
Spin-off series are also anticipated, building on the likes of Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, generated during Davies previous tenure on the show.
Although this amount wouldn’t match fantasy/sci-fi juggernauts like Stranger Things, House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power (which are said to cost between 20-50m per episode), it would be a big leap for Doctor Who.
Certainly, the highest budget the show has ever had, and could lead to some much-improved CGI. Perhaps even employing the Virtual stage tech used on shows like The Mandalorian/Boba Fett, which allows alien planets to really come to life.
