January 23, 2016 – The world according to Dan.

‘Doctor Who’ Showrunner Steven Moffat to Exit After Season 10

“Doctor Who” showrunner Steven Moffat will exit the series after the conclusion of its tenth season, it was announced Friday.

News of Moffat’s exit was first revealed by the UK’s Radio Times magazine, and was later confirmed by the official “Doctor Who” Twitter account:

Steven Moffat will step down as Head Writer & Exec Producer after S10… Chris Chibnall to take over! pic.twitter.com/iMhNoEAegy

— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) January 22, 2016

“Broadchurch” writer and self-proclaimed “Doctor Who” fan Chris Chibnall will replace Moffat.

“Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. While Chris is doing his last run of ‘Broadchurch,’ I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him,” Moffat said in a statement. “It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of ‘Doctor Who.’ And I will be thrown in a skip.”

“‘Doctor Who’ is the ultimate BBC program: bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world. So it’s a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama,” said Chibnall. “I’ve loved ‘Doctor Who’ since I was four years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore. Steven’s achieved the impossible by continually expanding ‘Doctor Who’s’ creative ambition, while growing its global popularity. He’s been a dazzling and daring showrunner, and hearing his plans and stories for 2017, it’s clear he’ll be going out with a bang. Just to make my life difficult.”

Charlotte Moore, Controller, BBC One says: “I want to thank Steven Moffat for everything he has given ‘Doctor Who’ – I’ve loved working with him, he is an absolute genius and has brought fans all over the world such joy. I will be very sad to see him leave the show but I can’t wait to see what he will deliver in his last ever series next year with a brand new companion. I have decided to schedule Steven’s big finale series in Spring 2017 to bring the nation together for what will be a huge event on the channel. 2016 is spoilt with national moments including the Euros and Olympics and I want to hold something big back for 2017 – I promise it will be worth the wait! I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Chris Chibnall, a wonderfully talented writer who I know will bring something very special to the hit series.”

Added Polly Hill, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning: “Like Charlotte I would like to thank Steven for his brilliance, which has made ‘Doctor Who’ a global hit under his tenure. Chris Chibnall is the perfect successor to take over the reins of this incredible show, so I am delighted that his love for ‘Doctor Who’ has made it impossible for him to resist! Chris is an incredible writer and his vision and passion for Doctor Who gives it an exciting future and promises to be a real treat for ‘Doctor Who’ fans across the world.”

Season 10 of “Doctor Who,” comprised of 12 episodes, is scheduled to air in the UK in Spring 2017, with Chibnall’s season set to debut in 2018. No US airdate has been set, but in recent years the Stateside schedule has been brought into alignment with the UK airings. Moffat will still be on hand to oversee the 2016 “Doctor Who” Christmas special, per the Radio Times, although it has yet to be determined whether the Doctor’s new companion will be a part of the episode.

Academy Overhauls Membership, Voting Rules to Promote Oscar Diversity

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has approved a series of major changes, in terms of voting and recruitment, also adding three new seats to the 51-person board — all part of a goal to double the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020. The changes were approved by the board Thursday night in an emergency meeting.

Also on Thursday, the Academy met with ABC officials and reps of Chris Rock, confirming that he will host the Feb. 28 ceremony, according to sources. Jada Pinkett Smith, Spike Lee and Will Smith said they will not attend. Some other activists had urged Rock to withdraw; he never addressed those directly, but insiders said he believes he can do more good by remaining, since the Academy Awards reach a worldwide audience.

The membership changes were announced Friday in a statement, with Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs adding, “The Academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up. These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact and begin the process of significantly changing our membership composition.”

The moves also affect the voting status of several new and longtime members.

Beginning later this year, each new member’s voting status will last 10 years, and will be renewed if the new member has been active in film during that decade. In addition, members will receive lifetime voting rights after three 10-year terms; or if they have been nominated for an Academy Award. The Acad will apply these same standards retroactively to current members. In other words, if a current member has not been active in the last 10 years they can still qualify by meeting the other criteria. Those who do not qualify for active status will be moved to emeritus status. Emeritus members do not pay dues but enjoy all the privileges of membership, except voting. This will not affect voting for this year’s Oscars.

In order to immediately increase diversity on the board, the Academy will establish three new governor seats, to be nominated by the president for three-year terms and confirmed by the board. The current board consists of 51 people.

At the same time, the Academy will supplement the traditional process in which current members sponsor new members by launching an ambitious, global campaign to identify and recruit qualified new members who represent greater diversity.

The proposals were passed unanimously at an emergency board meeting Thursday night. Academy honchos opted not to wait for the regularly scheduled board meeting on Jan. 26.

After worldwide media criticism over the Jan. 14 Oscar nominations, Academy officials knew they had to make some bold moves, and make them quickly. The image of the Oscars and the Academy were tarnished when the all-Caucasian lineup of 20 actors immediately led to bigger questions about the lack of diversity within the Academy — and ultimately within the industry.

Nobody was asking for quotas or affirmative action; instead, the protests were angry at Hollywood’s longtime failure to recognize racial and gender diversity in the country. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that non-whites constitute nearly 40% of the population. Yet studio decision-makers are overwhelmingly white and male, which is reflected in their films and especially their awards hopefuls.

Out of 305 eligible films, only a handful were made by directors of racial minority; only a few were directed by women.

Along with Boone Isaacs, the board’s membership and administration committee, chaired by Academy governor Phil Robinson, led the efforts to enact these initiatives.

Academy CEO Dawn Hudson and Boone Isaacs have helped champion a push to invite more diverse members; in June, the org announced invitations to a record 322 new members, representing a cross-section of the population. But with 6,261 voting members, the new additions apparently didn’t make much of a dent.

The Academy has 17 branches; actors nominate actors, editors nominate editors, and so on; the entire eligible membership votes on final Oscars.

Four days after the Jan. 14 announcement of nominations, Boone Isaacs issued a statement saying there would be “dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership.” She did not give details at the time.

The Academy said it will also take immediate action “to increase diversity by adding new members who are not governors to its executive and board committees where key decisions about membership and governance are made. This will allow new members an opportunity to become more active in Academy decision-making and help the organization identify and nurture future leaders.”