© 2025 WSHU
NPR News & Classical Music
WSHU
All Things Considered
WSHU
All Things Considered
Next Up: 6:30 PM Marketplace
0:00
0:00
All Things Considered
WSHU
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

'Doctor Who' is enlivened by its Black, openly queer star

Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who.
Disney Plus
Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who.

The last season of the venerable British science fiction series Doctor Who brought a lot of change. The Doctor is now played by Ncuti Gatwa, who is Black and openly queer. And it marked the return of the showrunner who birthed the modern era of Doctor Who. The show just returned for a new season on Disney+, so today we're revisiting our conversation about the series.

Glen Weldon is a host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. He reviews books, movies, comics and more for the NPR Arts Desk.
Eric Deggans is NPR's first full-time TV critic.