Doctor Who's Russell T. Davies Explains the Musical Focus of New Season

Here's why Doctor Who's newest season features more musical numbers.

By Jenna Anderson

A new era is almost on the horizon for Doctor Who, with the first season led by The Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) kicking off very soon. This newest batch of episodes, which are spearheaded by returning showrunner Russell T. Davies, have already promised some unexpected elements. This includes some surprising connections to the world of music, with an episode even involving The Beatles. While speaking with ComicBook about the new season, Davies argued that leaning into music felt like a natural fit for Doctor Who, especially in the show's current evolution.

"I was heading in that direction anyway," Davies explained. "I've got to say, in audition, we never asked [Ncuti] to sing. We never checked that out. And had he not been able to sing or dance, we would have found a way around that. I said, 'Look at the man.' I mean, no wonder we didn't ask. 'Of course he can sing and dance, he can do anything.' I never doubted that for a second. It's just something I want to do because I always want Doctor Who to feel every emotion, and for it to resonate with the viewers at home in every single way, and want to be the most memorable show you'll watch on television that week. And part of that is music. I mean, imagine not having a great soundtrack on Doctor Who, it would just be slightly less a show. So I worked with for many years on Doctor Who and almost every other job I've ever had, with Murray [Gold], because I think he's so magnificent and he's so in tune with me and he writes such good tunes. Other people might write beds of atmospheric, incidental music, he writes tunes. He's been heading towards writing songs in Doctor Who for a long time, in fact. He's independently gone and written his own songs, when David Tennant first became The Doctor. In 'The Christmas Invasion', and the happy ending of that episode, there's a great big song playing that Murray just went and wrote it over the soundtrack. That was the soundtrack. So he's always loved it. So maybe I'm just slow to follow, but I think it's just pushing the show into a bigger sensory experience, in every sense.'

What Is Doctor Who's New Season About?

From Disney+ and the BBC, this season of Doctor Who follows the Doctor and Ruby Sunday nthrough infinite adventures across time and space in the TARDIS. From the Regency era in England to war-torn futures, the duo champion the forces of good while encountering incredible friends and dangerous foes.

Guest stars on the new season of Doctor Who will include Aneurin Barnard, Anita Dobson, Yasmin Finney, Michelle Greenidge, Jonathan Groff, Bonnie Langford, Genesis Lynea, Jemma Redgrave, Lenny Rush, Indira Varma and Angela Wynter. Doctor Who is produced by Bad Wolf, with BBC Studios for Disney Branded Television and BBC. Under the creative vision of Davies, the additional executive producers include Phil Collinson, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter. The new season features episodes directed by Ben Chessell, Jamie Donoughue, Julie Anne Robinson and Dylan Holmes Williams.

"At last, it's my great delight to unleash a whole new season of the Doctor and Ruby's adventures together," showrunner, executive producer, and writer Russell T. Davies said in a statement. "Monsters! Chases! Villains! Mysteries! And a terrifying secret that's been spanning time and space for decades. Don't miss a second!"

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Doctor Who will return with new episodes on Friday, May 10th at 7pm ET on Disney+, with a two-episode premiere, followed by a debut on BBC iPlayer on Saturday, May 11 at 12am GMT, and a broadcast premiere on BBC One later that day. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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