The Big Picture

• Doctor Who thrives on change and the return of Russell T. Davies has brought a fresh entry point for new fans to join in on the "cosmic joyride."
• Davies is leaning into LGBTQ+ themes in the show, celebrating queerness naturally as a reflection of the welcoming world of 2024.
• The highly anticipated episodes "Boom" and "Rogue" will deliver hard sci-fi grit and a Bridgerton-style regency adventure, says Davies.

Having first hit the airwaves in 1963, Doctor Who has gone through change innumerable times in the past 60 years. So much so that change is one of the very cornerstones of the franchise. That being said, as we learned in the 60th anniversary specials, sometimes things have a way of coming back around just when they’re needed. Writer, showrunner, and executive producer Russell T. Davies, responsible for having revived the franchise in 2005 and turning it into a global phenomenon, has returned along with this new era.

Much like he did in 2005, Davies has created a new entry point for Doctor Who fans with a thrilling new doctor/companion duo. Ahead of the new season, I sat down with Davies to dive into these first two episodes and get a taste of what’s to come across the rest of the season. During our conversation, Davies broke down that fun Star Trek Easter egg and leaning more into queer themes for this era of Doctor Who. He also admits that casting Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson was “astronomically lucky,” and says he’ll keep bringing back Yasmin Finney’s Rose Noble as often as she wants to return. He also teased Steven Moffat and Kate Herron’s highly anticipated episodes, “Boom” and “Rogue.”

While Gatwa’s Doctor and Gibson’s Ruby have clear similarities to past Doctor/Companion duos, they’re also breathing a bit of new life into the series as their own unique dynamic. When asked how writing for these two differed from past TARDIS teams, Davies admitted that, “In many ways, it doesn't. In many ways, I'm not here to reinvent the wheel.” He went on to praise his past stars, saying, “I loved working with Billie Piper and David Tennant and Freema [Agyeman] and Catherine Tate. I have been blessed with great actors, and it's happened again. I've got to say that's a casting director who does a brilliant job.” He continued, “His name is Andy Pryor, and he searches the land for the best talent, so this doesn't happen by chance. Hard work never happens by chance. It’s always diligence.”

That being said, Davies does call getting both Gatwa and Gibson “astronomically lucky,” and went on to praise their “limitless” talent. He said:

“In the year I came back to Doctor Who, Ncuti decided to leave Sex Education, and Millie decided to leave Coronation Street, which really was, for me, a massive convergence of stars upon one project. I could not have been luckier.

And I think there's something so 2024 about them. I think they're young and they're passionate and they're raw and they're kind of bold. They're unafraid and they're limitless, which I've got to say, it's what you want from every lead actor in every drama, but when that's Doctor Who, you have a chance to push that to all the extremes with space babies and monsters and chases and satire and jokes and terror. The situations demand the full range of emotions, and those two deliver hugely.”

Russel T. Davies Is Leaning Into ‘Doctor Who’s Queer Themes Because “It Just Feels Natural”

Queer themes have always been part of Davies’ writing as a gay man himself — and as a queer person myself, seeing the series openly embrace the LGBTQ+ community has only made me love Doctor Who even more. From Yasmin Finney’s Rose Noble getting her hero moment as a trans woman in “The Star Beast” to little indicators of a more fluid sexuality for the Doctor, the latest era of Doctor Who celebrates queerness while other mainstream shows are pulling back on their representation. Davies said, “No one's ever asked me to step back from [writing queerness into the series]. It doesn't even feel particularly queer to me, it just feels natural.”

Davies went on to say that any naysayers in the dark corners of the internet don’t concern him. He said:

“This is the world, and it's 2024 and we're all embracing this. Twitter might kick off, and in dark little corners people might argue, but that's not the real world. The real world is one of acceptance with battles to be fought and votes to be gained. I'm not naive to the problems that exist, but god, it's a more welcoming world. In schools, we now have people who can come out in schools and be happy and thrive, which when I was that age was literally impossible. So, that's got to be a better world. So, I simply write quite naturally. I don't think about it that much. That is my world, and I'm trusted by my bosses to put my world and to put my writing on screen, so I confidently do.”

While we were on the subject of queerness, I had to ask Davies about casting drag legend and queer icon Jinkx Monsoon as part of a new pantheon of Doctor Who villains. “What a joy,” he said “I'd actually known Jinkx for a while, and I knew Jinkx's husband. I was actually talking to Jinkx's husband on the night they met. Michael [Abbott] said, “I'm off for a date,” and I didn't know with whom. Then I was a guest at their Zoom wedding! They got married in the lockdown, and I gave a speech on Zoom.” Davies went on to say that he’s “always admired Jinkx.” He attends Monsoon’s Christmas show every year in Britain, “I genuinely walk away from them dazzled by their invention” he said, praising her genius. “So when it came to writing Maestro, that just absolutely fitted everything I wanted to do. Casting Jinkx was almost common sense, and obviously, everyone else on the team agreed with that.”

“It's kind of raised the roof on Doctor Who slightly. It's allowed a madness and a freedom,” said Davies. “I find that character more terrifying for the Doctor because the Doctor is very used to finding out the rules, working out the rules, and then using those rules against his enemy. But actually, when you're faced with the titanic god of sound and music and fury, then all rules are off. The Doctor has a very hard time defeating them, so it's a great battle. It's a wonderful battle. I mean, you've seen the end result. It's becoming one of everyone's favorites immediately because it's titanic. I keep saying titanic because it is so huge.”

With that final battle in mind, I had to ask Davies what music Maestro would find in his heart. The writer gave a perfectly on-theme answer as he ultimately landed on the music of Doctor Who composer Murray Gold. As someone who also writes while listening to Gold’s sweeping scores, I also don’t want to live in a world without that music.

“I think they'd have to steal the music of Murray Gold, who does the Doctor Who soundtracks, who's a very good friend of mine and who's written the soundtracks of almost everything I ever write because we're so in sync that it’s hard for me to ever work without him, and I love him. So, oh my gosh! Let's never talk about Murray Gold being stolen from me. That's too sad a thought. It could never happen.”

It’s no secret that my favorite Doctor Who character is Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble, so I am eagerly awaiting the return of Rose Noble, played by rising star Yasmin Finney. With Rose appearing in a future episode — possibly the Season 1 finale — I had to ask Davies about bringing Finney back. “I mean, Yasmin and Rose I will always keep working with as long as I can, I hope,” he said. “I mean, that's one of the most in-demand actors in the world.” He went on to explain that the only thing that would keep Rose from appearing in the series is if Finney is, understandably booked and busy.

“I consider myself to be lucky. I consider that I'm very lucky that she enjoyed herself so much that she always wants to come back,” said Davies. He also noted that for fans wondering what the previous Doctor and Donna are up to these days, “there's always a little fleeting reference to “my mom” and “my uncle,” when Finney stops by. “She's part of the family. If we can keep her there, I'd be very, very happy,” said Davies.

Russell T. Davies Wants Shonda Rhimes to Write an Episode of ‘Doctor Who’

One of the most anticipated episodes coming up this season is airing next week as former showrunner Steven Moffat returns with “Boom.” With Moffat having penned some of the best episodes of the series — especially when writing for Davies — I had to ask what we can expect from the upcoming episode. Davies took a moment to praise his fellow writer, confessing that he begged Moffat to come back and write an episode for the new season. “One of my first phone calls when I got the job back was to phone up Steven, saying, “Please come and write an episode.” That's the man who wrote “Blink” and invented the Weeping Angels,” he explained. “He's just a joy and a genius and actually makes my life easier because I could just sit back in those episodes and have a week off. So, that's on a war-torn world. It's after the madness of the space babies and Maestro. It comes right down to Earth… very tough, very gritty, very hard, much more hard sci-fi. So, very, very enjoyable. I love that.”

Davies also had high praise for the Bridgerton-style episode on the horizon. “Rogue” is written by Loki’s Kate Herron and her writing partner Briony Redman, who “is a power in improv and stand-up in Britain,” according to Davies. He teased the regency vibes of the episode, saying:

“So that's what we call the Bridgerton episode, and literally, the Doctor and Ruby call it the Bridgerton episode. They’re in 1813 England at a ball, doing all the dances, and they keep saying, “Oh my god, it's like we’re in Bridgerton,” which is enormous, fun, and irresistible. Kate and Briony simply could not resist doing that. It's also a story with it, of course. It's not exactly like Bridgerton in that there are evil aliens out to steal bodies. [Laughs] Frankly, that might be a good story in Bridgerton. I'd suggest that to Shonda [Rhimes] if ever I meet her. But it's a great, great mash-up of historical and science fiction.”

As a fan of Bridgerton, as well as the rest of Shondaland, and knowing that Shonda Rhimes is a fan of Doctor Who herself, I couldn’t help but muse about a potential team-up between these two pop culture powerhouses. Davies couldn’t help but agree, saying: “I would love to see Shonda write an episode. I think that Netflix contract forbids anything, but I'll wait. I'll play a long game. I'll wait for that one.”

The first two episodes of Doctor Who Season 1 are now streaming on Disney+ and you can catch the next episode, Moffat’s “Boom,” on Friday, May 17 at 7 PM ET.

Watch on Disney+