'Doctor Who' Diversifies Its Writers Room for Ncuti Gatwa's Second Season

Change is the name of the game in the world of Doctor Who, and that’s as true behind the scenes as it is in front of the camera. Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa’s second season in the TARDIS will arrive later this year, and Varada Sethu (Mrs. Sidhu Investigates) will debut as the new companion, Belinda Chandra. But Season 2 (or Season 15 or Season 42, depending on how you’re counting) will also add some new voices to the show’s roster through its writer’s room. The BBC has announced that four new writers will join the next season: Juno Dawson, Inua Ellams, Pete McTighe, and Sharma Angel-Walfall. This is a bigger deal than it might seem at first glance.

Davies predominantly penned Gatwa’s first season with assistance from former showrunner Steven Moffat (“Boom,” “Joy to the World”) and the writing duo of Kate Herron and Briony Redman (“Rogue”). With the addition of these new faces, at least four episodes of his second will be written by fresh voices, including the first people of color and the first trans woman to write for his Fifteenth Doctor. Since Gatwa himself is a queer Black man (and seems to be playing his Doctor as one, too), this feels especially important and necessary.

“Doctor Who takes its talent from a glittering galaxy of names, and these extraordinary writers span the skies,” Davies said in a statement. “We’ve got old hands, new stars, voices from theater, radio, and literature, the whole works! It’s the most wild and exciting season of Doctor Who yet, and I can’t wait to unleash their brilliant work.”