Doctor Who, the iconic 62-year-old British sci-fi show, has just earned its very firstEmmy nomination for the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards. Following Ncuti Gatwa’s abrupt departure,Billie Piper’s surprise regeneration, and the show’s unconfirmed renewal status, the future ofDoctor Whohas never felt quite so precarious. This Emmy nomination couldn’t have come at a better time.
WhileDoctor Whomight not be competing for the biggest Emmy awards, with shows likeAndor,The Bear,Severance,Shrinking,The Last of Us,The Studio, and more duking it out for Best Drama, Best Comedy, and the Best Actor/Actress categories,Doctor Whohas earned a nomination for Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming, alongside other nomineesBridgerton,Étoile,Severance, andWill Trent.
The nominated routine, “There’s Always A Twist,” comes from the show’s Beatles-inspired episode, “The Devil’s Chord,” featured in Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the Doctor. It’s a big, original musical number, set across several sets with dozens of dancers, including two well-known ballroom dancing legends. It’s a great reminder of whatDoctor Whohas to offer: the best campy, fun, timey-wimey shenanigans.
What This Means For Doctor Who
Doctor Who Has Been Nominated For Other Major Awards Before
While this Emmy nomination is most welcome, it’s not likely to have an impact on any potential renewal deals between the BBC and Disney. Still,it proves thatDoctor Whohas well and truly broken through in America’s mainstream media landscape. Before streaming,Doctor Whobounced around between North American networks, never fully capitalizing on its potential.
Previous seasons ofDoctor Whohave been nominated for (and won) the Saturn Awards, the Hugo Awards, the UK’s National Television Awards, and, of course, Britain’s highest TV honor, the BAFTAs.
Now, Classic Who episodes are available to stream on BritBox, while the 2005 revival episodes are available on HBO Max (note that these will be removed from the service on July 31). The latest seasons are exclusive to Disney+ because of the BBC’s and Disney’s co-production deal, making this nomination possible.
While this first-ever Primetime Emmy nomination is a big deal,it’s certainly notDoctor Who’s first awards nomination. Previous seasons ofWhohave been nominated for (and won) the Saturn Awards, the Hugo Awards, the UK’s National Television Awards, and, of course, Britain’s highest TV honor, the BAFTAs.
In 2006,Doctor Whotook home the BAFTA for Best Drama Series and Best Writer. It won Best Writer again in 2008 for Steven Moffat’s “Blink,” and in 2009,Doctor Whowon the BAFTA for Best Editing Fiction/Entertainment.
Our Take On Doctor Who’s Award-Nominated Future
Surely, The BBC And Disney Can’t Leave It Like This
It’s worrisome that we haven’t heard anything aboutDoctor Who’s future, especially given the way the last series ended.Billie Piper’s potential role as the 16th Doctorneeds to be explained.Ending the show on such a massive cliffhanger, one that could have incredible implications forDoctor Who’s lore, would be a travesty.
Hopefully, we’ll hear more news soon.Doctor Whois now an Emmy-nominated show; if it has to come to an end, it deserves to go out on a high note.
