Doctor Who is one of the most beloved sci-fi series of all time, and has garnered a fan base that spans generations. The British drama has ended and been revived a handful of times since it first premiered in 1963, with one of the most iconic iterations being the one helmed by Welsh screenwriter Russell T. Davies.

Russell T. Davies created many iconic shows

Doctor Who is just one of the many titles associated with Davies. Most notably, the classic LGBTQ show Queer as Folk. Davies wrote Queer as Folk in the late 1990s after a near-fatal overdose and wanted to portray gay people as normal, happy people as opposed to the images of party-crazed men living with HIV that were all too common at the time.

Davies’ latest effort, the HBO Max series It’s a Sin, is another portrayal of British LGBTQ life during the AIDS epidemic. Though the series is only five episodes, Davies tells gripping stories that educate viewers in addition to making them laugh and cry.

Russell T. Davies revived ‘Doctor Who’

The original Doctor Who series first premiered in 1963 and ran until its cancellation in 1989. After the show ended, the story lived on throughout the ’90s in a series of books titled The New Adventures of Doctor Who. Davies was one of many writers who created Doctor Who stories during this time.

After the success of Queer as Folk, Davies was the first choice by people behind the scenes to revive Doctor Who for a movie. Several years passed and no progress was made. Finally, it was decided that Davies would helm a new Doctor Who series, which premiered in 2005.

Davies served as executive producer and head writer on the new Doctor Who for four seasons before leaving the series in 2009.

Russell T. Davies said this about ‘Doctor Who’

Davies reflected on his time on Doctor Who in a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. His straight answer regarding the future of It’s a Sin may indicate why he left Doctor Who over a decade ago.

“There isn’t a second season [of It’s a Sin]. It was lovely. It said everything I wanted to say,” Davies said of the HBO Max miniseries. “The only long-running thing I’ve ever done is Doctor Who and that’s because Doctor Who is designed to be long running.”

As for what’s to come after It’s a Sin, Davies himself barely has a clue. “I will start writing,” he concluded. “I don’t know how I follow something like It’s a Sin. I think I’m just going to write something funny. I look at my career and I’m a bit puzzled on when I became such a tragedian, when I’m a really big laugh actually.”

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