Doctor Who Showrunner Explains Inspiration Behind New Beatles Episode
In its upcoming fourteenth season, Doctor Who pays tribute to the legendary band, The Beatles. Showrunner Russell T. Davies explains how the episode came to be.
With their song “Blackbird” recently featured on Beyoncé’s new album, Cowboy Carter, The Beatles remain a mainstay of pop culture even to this day. Davies recognized their influence and has long wished to pay tribute to the iconic British band through an episode of the sci-fi drama.
Despite the writer’s interest in creating such an episode, he struggled with the logistics. In an interview with Empire, the showrunner explained, “The notion of doing a Beatles episode has always hit a certain stumbling block.” Due to the expensive licensing required, the creators of the series were unable to utilize the band’s actual discography onscreen.
However, this challenge only inspired the creative minds behind the program to think of a way around it. Davies shared, “I knew instantly you can never play Beatles songs on screen because the copyright is too expensive. So I’m thinking, ‘How would you do a Beatles episode without Beatles music?’” He continued, “And that becomes the entire plot… That’s where the idea came from – copyright law!”
Doctor Who’s fourteenth season premieres this May, and it will finally feature the long-awaited Beatles episode. Titled “The Devil’s Chord,” it will follow The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), as they travel back in time to see The Beatles record at Abbey Road.
THE DEVIL'S CHORD
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) March 31, 2024
Writer: Russell T Davies
Director: Ben Chessell #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/v7dpgt9QTK
Davies also revealed what inspired him to revisit the idea now. He admitted, “There’s a young director called Sam Arbor who I’ve kind of been mentoring for a while, and when I told him I was going back to Doctor Who, he was just 21 and said, ‘Oh my God, if I had a TARDIS, I’d go back and watch the Beatles recording their first album.’” Witnessing Arbor’s enthusiasm for the idea, the producer was determined to make it work.
To watch the exciting new episode, viewers can tune into Disney+. Doctor Who‘s new season premieres on the streaming platform this May. You can also watch the trailer for the upcoming installment below.
