New Doctor Who Series First Look Image Reveals A New Doctor (& He’s Exactly What The Franchise Needs)

The venerable BBC franchise Doctor Who has been having some tough times lately. Following a deal with Disney that initially infused Doctor Who with extra cash to create bigger-budget adventures in space and time, international ratings just didn’t match. Actor Ncuti Gatwa opted out sooner than most and showrunner Russell T. Davies created a deliberately shocking cliffhanger on the way out that he had no real plan for following through on, beyond the immediate buzz. Last month, the BBC opened up the pitching process to anyone with “a unique creative and editorial vision.” So far, no actor has been announced, nor are any of the old ones under contract.

However, we learned back in June that Doctor Who would be coming back as an animated show for preschoolers. This hearkens back to the show’s roots in 1963 as an educational program, in which the time travel adventures had to have a certain amount of history lesson to them, while the space adventures imparted science lessons. And now we know what it’s going to look like.

The First Image of Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew Is Here

The Doctor depicted in the new teaser image (below) isn’t one we’ve seen before, though he certainly has familiar attributes. Via the official Doctor Who website, he’s described as “a young Time Lord,” which could mean either the character regenerated into a younger body, or that this is a previously unseen iteration from the Timeless Child period. The Timeless Child retcon, revealing the Doctor was the first immortal Time Lord with many regenerations beyond the handful covered on the series, was controversial with fans, so it’s less likely they’ll go that way, and more likely, given that this is for young children, that the cartoon simply won’t address a lot of continuity baggage that new, preschool viewers wouldn’t care about anyway. Anyway, here he is…

Fans will inevitably note, with some amusement, that this Doctor looks a lot like a younger version of Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty, who explicitly behaves like an angry, drunk version of The Doctor. His companions are named Hannah, Beastie, and Toast-IE, who seems to be a literal living toaster. Perennial metal space-fascists the Daleks are clearly still in effect, though animation looks to be giving them more physical flexibility and size ranges than the live-action shows. Pulling from the Star Trek: Prodigy playbook, it’s also taking advantage of the fact that in animation, it costs nothing extra for major characters to be aliens or animals. Episodes will be 11 minutes long, and 52 are being ordered upfront, which, as preschoolers may learn soon enough, is one a week for a year, and a bigger commitment than the character has gotten in quite a while. A voice actor is not yet named for the lead role.

The show’s official description states that “Through action-packed, preschool-friendly stories, the series celebrates curiosity, courage and kindness, encouraging young viewers to explore new ideas, solve problems and embrace the unexpected…friendship, teamwork and quick thinking can change everything.” Doctor Who has always been about brains over brawn, and the power of quick thinking over weapons firing. There’s a reason why the Doctor, who rarely carries any device more violent than a sonic screwdriver to open doors, consistently defeats a race of deadly cyborgs armed with death rays and a genocidal ideology. Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew will arrive on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer in late 2027/early 2028. There’s little doubt parents will watch, too; will they embrace the new, or demand that the show explain itself as to why Billie Piper isn’t the new lead?

Are you onboard for this new Doctor? Does it even matter if you aren’t the target audience? Materialize your thoughts in comments.