Despite a new twist to the show’s lore that could hype longtime fans, Doctor Who viewers continue to drop with each episode of the latest season.
Jodie Whittaker’s second run as the Doctor has met critical acclaim so far by bringing back one of her oldest enemies and developing the ‘Timeless Child’ story arc, but if audience figures are any indication, Chris Chibnall’s Who is in deep trouble. Last week, we reported that season 12’s premiere episode, “Spyfall,” opened to some of the worst figures in the show’s history by roping in only 4.96 million viewers, a two million drop from the last episode, titled “Resolution.”
The nosedive didn’t stop there though and the second part of “Spyfall” managed to bring in only 4.6 million viewers, a significant 300,000 drop from the previous outing. Now, amid criticisms aimed at Chibnall’s controversial decisions to change the show’s continuity, the third episode has only managed to pull in 4.19 million, losing a whopping 400,000, which essentially puts Whittaker’s second season in one of the worst spots in the show’s 50-year history.
Things aren’t looking particularly good for the sci-fi series, and it would appear that the BBC’s gamble to make massive changes to the format of the show hasn’t paid off. Either way, Chibnall seems to not care about what critics have to say about his work, even though the current average of his latest season’s audience figures come in under last season by 33%.
There were previously rumors that both Chibnall and Whittaker were leaving Doctor Who in 2019, but since then, we’ve learned that these reports were unfounded. Still, if the ratings continue to plummet like this, the network might have to think of something before losing the show as it did in 1989.
Of course, Chibnall may yet redeem his tenure by utilizing some known tropes of Doctor Who to bring back diehard fans. But one thing we do know with certainty is that the last two seasons prove a politically-charged show just doesn’t work for Whovians.