Showrunner Russell T Davies’ new season of legendary sci-fi TV show Doctor Who is yet to premiere, but has already earned itself rave reviews and perfect ratings.
The fourteenth installment, which is being called Doctor Who season 1, has landed a rare 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it undoubtedly a perfect season. Although fans are yet to get their mitts on Davies' new batch of TARDIS tales, critics who have already seen the show have been sharing the love for Ncuti Gatwa’s The Doctor, and we love to see it.
"Gatwa is already perfect as the Doctor. Some Time Lords are a work in progress. He’s the finished article right from the jump," said Ed Power from Independent, while Anita Singh from The Telegraph echoed, "The main asset of the new Doctor Who is Gatwa, who carries the series along with the force of his megawatt charisma."
Other critics celebrated Davies’ magic touch, as Reuben Baron from Looper put it, "Davies' return has brought back the sense of silliness and unabashed fun," and Kayleigh Dray from AV Club said, "There’s lots of fun to be had in this new Whoniverse installment, which is packed to the brim with comedy, camp, and chemistry."
Our reviewer said, "There's a sense that Davies is not only keen to open the show up to a wider audience, but to push its boundaries beyond defined notions of genre." Read the full review here.
The show welcomes back Sex Education’s Gatwa as The Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as his trusted companion Ruby Sunday, whom we first met in the highly anticipated 2023 Christmas Special. Although the season does not have an official synopsis (still), from the trailer we know the duo travel through time and space on adventures to the Regency era, the ‘60s, and even to outer space.
Doctor Who season 1 will premiere simultaneously on BBC iPlayer on May 11 in the UK and Disney Plus internationally on May 10 with a double bill. New episodes will then air weekly.
For more on The Fifteenth Doctor, see our exclusive interviews with Davies on a potential Doctor Who musical and with Gatwa on his favorite episode of the season. Or, keep up to date with the best new TV shows coming your way in 2024 and beyond.
