‘Doctor Who’ season 8: Peter Capaldi’s reveal draws impressive international attention

Prior to the stints of David Tennant and Matt Smith as The Doctor, “Doctor Who” was a very niche series in an international crowd; if you enjoyed the show, you were one of a select group, and it was hard to find other fans of the show without crossing over to Europe. However, it’s not so much that way anymore, and while the rest of the world may still be catching up on the home country of the United Kingdom, the new ratings announced for the Peter Capaldi reveal as the next Doctor prove that there are viewers hungry out there for more of the classic character.

Overall, a total of 1.5 million people watched this special across America, Australia, and Canada, including almost 900,000 people in the United States when the announcement happened at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. In the 25-54 demographic, this made the broadcast the second-most-popular non-primetime event ever on BBC America, trailing only the Royal Wedding. We personally find the Canadian figures on Space to be even more impressive; despite having a little bit more then a tenth of America’s population, almost half as many people watched the reveal on Space at its peak.

Also, applause to the 40,000 people who actually woke up at 4:00 a.m. on Australia in order to catch the show live; it was re-aired a little later in the day, but this is a real sign of Whovian devotion (or insomnia, one of the two).

Capaldi will likely be revealed first in the upcoming Christmas special, and then will star in the rest of the episodes in the show’s eighth season, which premieres on the BBC early next year.

As more and more details come out about the Christmas special (which will begin taping fairly soon), we will have them for you here.

Photo: BBC One