Doctor Who Fans Are Concerned About The Show's HBO Max Exit, But I Think It Could Lead To Something We Haven't Had In Years

While rumors persist that Doctor Who creatives are looking for a new partner as the BBC prepares to part ways with Disney in its short-lived partnership co-producing, more big news about the series has dropped. Seasons 1 through 13 have been available to Americans with a Max subscription for years now, but that's coming to an end very soon. Even though fans are concerned, I think it could lead to something positive I've waited to happen for quite some time.

For those who are unaware, Doctor Who will be leaving Max on July 31st (per Collider). As of writing, a new streaming home hasn't been announced yet. As some might guess, the 60th anniversary and Ncuti Gatwa's run remain available with a Disney+ subscription.

With Doctor Who leaving HBO Max, it's possible the series has lost what's been a solid suitor for years now. At the same time, though, I think a valuable asset can be gained, in that whichever platform takes over the ongoing franchise in the United States has the chance to also acquire the vast majority of prior classic seasons and episodes as well.

This is to say, whoever gets the new episodes could also obtain Seasons 1-13 of the reboot era, and be just twenty-two episodes shy of having every episode a fan could want. It's a whole lot better of a deal than what Disney had, especially if the new Who home could somehow negotiate with the House of Mouse and get the rights to those episodes as well. I dream of a day when we can stream at least the entire modern Doctor Who in one place, and that day may be much closer than we think.

Max: Plans start from $9.99 a month
Stream Doctor Who while you still can on Max. Pay $9.99 a month for its With Ads plan, and with three tiers available, there's some variety into how you can pay. You can also prepay for a year and save up to 20%.

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I should also add that any interested streamer looking to acquire both new and old episodes of Doctor Who has the prime timing to do so. The series just wrote off Ncuti Gatwa's iteration of the Doctor, and the character reappeared with actress Billie Piper taking on the mantle.

Now, we don't know for certain whether Piper, who previously played Rose Tyler in the series, is The Doctor or not. What we do know is that DW has done this before, and that there will be some form of acknowledgment that The Doctor looks like Rose. She's too important a character in his life for that to go unnoticed, so I feel relatively certain it will be addressed. You don't just bring in one of the most beloved actors from the show's past and then not do anything with them.

With a storyline that draws on a past character so much, it would be advantageous for a streamer to also have earlier relevant episodes for the audience to check out. Netflix or some other streamer could manage to grab both, and maybe succeed in pulling in some big viewership for people wanting both new and classic Doctor Who to stream.

We don't know where Doctor Who will end up, but I would wager we'll know more before the end of the 2025 TV schedule. Until then, there's still time to enjoy the series on streaming, and check out our list of the best DW episodes of all time.