Doctor Who season 14: Is a huge budget increase on the way?

We all know that Doctor Who season 14 will be coming down the line, on the other side of the anniversary specials. What we’re still learning about is just how different it could be.

If you missed some of the recent news, Disney+ is going to be the exclusive home of the sci-fi institution moving forward, other than in the UK where it will continue to be a part of the BBC. We’d heard that as a part of this deal that Disney would be contributing financially to the show moving forward and now, we’ve got a better sense of what those contributions will be.

According to a report from UK industry site Broadcast with currency conversions from Gizmodo, the budget per episode could rise to up to $11.5 million per episode for season 14. That is more than three times some of the more expensive episodes we’ve seen during the Jodie Whittaker era and, in some cases, significantly more than that.

So why the massive uptick in cost? It has a lot to do with efforts to further modernize the show and bring in a larger global audience. Remember that this series is now competing against the likes of House of the Dragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which both cost significantly more than $11.5 million per episode. The BBC, as a publicly-funded institution, can only contribute so much; personally, though, we’ve always thought the show’s at times low-budget feel has been one of its charms. We hope that even with a higher price tag, the show does continue to rely on practical effects when it can and this doesn’t turn into a CGI-heavy story like we tend to see in a Marvel movie.

Sometimes, change can be a good thing — it’s just far too early to know whether or not that’s going to be the case here.

What are you most hoping to see when it comes to Doctor Who season 14?

Do you think the bigger budget will ultimately be a good thing? Share in the comments! Once you do just that, come back for other updates.