Disney Ditches the TARDIS: Director Peter Hoar Reflects on a Failed “Time Lord” Deal
Let’s be honest: when Disney+ first partnered with the BBC to co-fund Doctor Who, it felt like the TARDIS had landed on a gold mine. More budget! Global reach! A shiny new era! But now, with the deal dead and the dust settling, one of the show’s own directors is offering a surprisingly blunt post-mortem. According to Peter Hoar—the filmmaker behind episodes of Daredevil, The Last of Us, and recent Who stories like “The Robot Revolution”—the simple truth is that something just didn’t click.
“I don’t think anybody would doubt the skills at the front line of that show, but something went wrong,” Hoar stated in a recent Deadline interview. The core of his critique? The show didn’t fundamentally improve. “I think there were lots of areas you could point fingers at,” he admitted, “but ultimately it wasn’t a better show with more money.”
Hoar has a unique perspective, having directed for both the Matt Smith era (“A Good Man Goes to War”) and the recent, Disney-backed season featuring Ncuti Gatwa. That final batch of episodes, intended to be a bold new chapter, instead became the partnership’s swan song. Months after the BBC confirmed Disney’s exit, Hoar’s reflection suggests the infusion of cash failed to translate into a more compelling product.
A Silver Lining in a Smaller Budget?
In a twist worthy of a Who plot, Hoar frames this corporate breakup as a potential “good thing.” With Disney out and the entire streaming world tightening its belt, the financial playing field has leveled. “We haven’t got the money anymore,” he noted pragmatically. “Nobody has.” The implication is clear: the future of the show, and others like it, may hinge more on creative ingenuity than on a blank check.
From One Classic to Another: The Blake’s 7 Gambit
So where does a director turn after a high-profile deal goes sideways? To another classic BBC sci-fi property, of course. The interview also served to announce Hoar’s next big project: a reboot of the cult favorite Blake’s 7, which he’s developing with producer Matthew Bouch (A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, The Witcher).
Their timing, they argue, is strategic. Bouch pointed directly to the “well-publicized dropping off of Doctor Who” as creating a gap in the UK market for smart, genre-bending television. It seems the end of one era might just be the perfect opportunity to resurrect another. The message? In today’s landscape, a sharp idea and a loyal fanbase might be more valuable than all of Disney’s resources.
