In an announcement that seemed to come out of nowhere, the official BBC Twitter account announced that former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat would return to write an episode for the upcoming series. This marks the first time Moffat has written for the series since his exit in 2017.

Steven Moffat’s return might be controversial to Doctor Who fans

The return is likely to be controversial for Doctor Who fans. While he wrote several well-regarded episodes when the series returned in 2005 (“The Girl in the Fire Place” and “Blink” among them), his tenure as showrunner divided fans. His run on the Doctor was largely ambitious. The series played up the time travel aspect, with events happening non-linearly and characters meeting at random points in time.  

However, he was frequently criticized for how he portrayed women on the show and a lack of diversity in both characters and the writing staff. Additionally, the show’s ambitious swings narratively left many viewers frustrated at their conclusions. Even fans today still argue on the various merits or lack thereof of the episodes produced during his tenure.

At the time of the show, Moffat also had a contentious relationship with fans. He took criticisms of the show very poorly and frequently voiced his displeasure with fans leaking spoilers. During one San Diego Comic-Con, he threatened that the series would not return if footage aired there leaked. It was not well received. 

Since leaving Doctor Who, Moffat kept busy. He and frequent collaborator Mark Gatiss created a Dracula mini-series for the BBC and Netflix. His adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger‘s The Time Traveler’s Wife aired on HBO. Neither of those series hit audiences or critics the same way his time on Doctor Who or Sherlock, the show that ran concurrently with Doctor Who and was possibly even bigger.  

“Hitchcock.”

Still, Moffat’s return for a one-off episode is promising. Moffat has always excelled at one-off episodes.

He described his episode in one word: “Hitchcock.” As the serial has always excelled at genre-bending, it could be a lot of fun. 

The latest season of Doctor Who premieres May 11, 2024, on Disney+.

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