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“Doctor Who” showrunner and writer Russell T. Davies participated in a masterclass in France on Wednesday, where he discussed the darker side of social media and its ties to – and impact on – fandom.
He says plenty of those making films and television in the industry all too often “fall into the trap of talking about fans and assuming that means the online voice”. That is a mistake:
“I think they are different things. I know they’re different things, I absolutely know that, and that online voice, which is hostile, exists on X, which is a hate site. We shouldn’t be surprised to find hatred on it, because it’s a hate site … It’s very dangerously assumed that that is the fan voice.”
Davies, who isn’t afraid to push boundaries with his work, has long dealt with backlashes over the years from “Queer as Folk” in the 1990s through to reviving “Doctor Who” in the 2000s to acclaimed miniseries like the ‘what if’ Britain embraced fascism with “Years and Years” and the mini-series “Nolly”.
He returned to “Doctor Who” with Ncuti Gatwa taking on the role – the first openly queer Black actor to do so. The discourse online surrounding the show turned toxic, with legitimate complaints about the show’s creative direction and shortcomings drowned out by much nastier and more pointed insults involving racism and homophobia.
Davies claims that social media and what he dubs “the collapse of journalism” have pushed extreme toxic voices into the mainstream and “suddenly they’re in newspaper articles, suddenly you find critics quoting those voices”. He adds that fans don’t have to like a show, but people can still be respectful and “have a great time disagreeing:
“Fandom is creative and brilliant and fun, but it’s all getting soured. Turn those phones off for anyone under 16, chuck them in the bin. I literally am evangelical about it.”
Davies is next working on Channel 4’s “Tip Toe”, which the “Torchwood” creator calls his “angriest and darkest show yet”.
The series stars Alan Cumming and David Morrissey as a bar owner in Manchester and his long-standing neighbour, who get caught up in a feud.
The message of the series? “[that] simply being gay in 2026 is political” and adds that: “People will hate it. My word, this show is going to get called woke on a colossal scale, but I’m happy to be called woke.”
The comments come as the fate of “Doctor Who” is up in the air following the Disney+ exit from its partnership with the BBC. A Christmas Special is on the way for later this year.
The post “Doctor Who” Boss On Fandom’s Dark Side appeared first on Dark Horizons.
