Despite what a small portion of the fanbase may claim, Doctor Who has never been a series that shied away from the current social trends. All the way from the 60s into the modern era, it has been an excellent measure of the current state of the world, at least in the UK.
With a new Doctor (or two) on the horizon, let's take a look at what big changes and big issues the new series may be looking to adapt to.
The Social Changes
To begin with, if there's one current hot topic that Doctor Who seems almost designed to tackle, it's everything around transgender people and trans rights as a whole. After all, what other show can say that their main character has canonically changed gender as part of the story? While the first outing of a female Doctor infamously fell flat , the door remains firmly open to future versions.
Given Ncuti Gatwa's breakout role in Sex Education which often deals with areas of the LGBTQ+ spectrum, his introduction following a female Doctor could be a perfect chance to discuss the topic carefully.
The Tech Changes
The more that time goes on, the less believable it is that people would casually disregard a big blue police box in London. As expectations of sci-fi change, it might be time for Doctor Who to start taking notes from a show that it inspired, namely Rick & Morty. That show plays down a lot of the 'how' of its tech to focus on the story, which was an old Who quality that has suffered recently.
We wouldn't be surprised to see some references to Rick & Morty in general within the new series. The show has proven popular enough to introduce a whole new wave of fans to sci-fi. Doctor Who arguably bought the genre further into the mainstream, as can be seen with other adjacent industries like iGaming. The Rick & Morty Megaways™ game has been a massive draw for fans of phone casino games that can be played anywhere and anytime.
Online games rely on long-lasting franchises to attract fans, and it's clear that the sci-fi genre has inspired a range of games that draw on a lot of features and themes that Whovians would also recognise. There are more of these games still in the works alongside mainstream video games so it has some endurance too.
The TV Changes
With less to do with the stories and more with the show structure as a whole, we may see Doctor Who starts adapting to modern TV viewing trends. The BBC may operate differently to cable TV in the US but if recent reports are anything to go by, streaming is set to take over as the platform of choice there as well. For US distribution, it seems that a streaming deal has already been put in place for future series, but the big question is how it may affect the show itself.
We'd expect to see a big return to the season-long overarching narratives of old as binge culture kicks in, and the casting of Neil Patrick Harris is perhaps a nod to the expected American audience. For now, however, there are too few details and too many secrets being held back to make a good judgment on it either way, much like the Doctor themself.
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