Will Doctor Who season 11 premiere prove to be an enormous ratings sensation?
It feels like an understatement to say there’s been a lot of hype for this season, as the networks have done just about everything that they can in order to sell the series to a younger audience. The hope here is that with Jodie Whittaker as the star, there may be a larger demographic of viewers out there interested in watching than before. A good percentage of the diehard Whovian contingent is there, but there is a desire to expand beyond that.
Now, add to this the presence of new showrunner Chris Chibnall, who seems to be very much interested in having this new version of the show appeal to newcomers. There is not going to be an attempt to showcase at all here a number of familiar monsters or winks to past seasons; while there may be references and Easter eggs, there are no plans to just inundate the show with things that new viewers will not understand.
All of this, on paper, could end up lifting Doctor Who to the highest ratings we’ve seen in the past couple of years. That is our expectation, both in terms of the numbers in America and also some of the ratings in Britain. Straight out of the gate, the feeling is that the BBC will be thrilled with the start. What they need to be more concerned over is some of the consistency after that, and whether or not the show will containue to hold that audience. If the premiere is well-received, it may be able to carry some of that momentum and perform better over the year than it has in some time.
Yet, the BBC should be aware that tomorrow’s ratings are probably going to be the highest the series receives all season. There is a natural tendency for numbers to fall after a premiere.
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