David Tennant Downplays His ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Role While Backing ‘Doctor Who’ to Return
Few actors can walk into a long-running American hit and make it feel like a homecoming, but David Tennant is doing exactly that. His ‘Only Murders in the Building‘ appearance is part of a London-set run that has become a roll call of British talent. The season’s guest cast is a who’s who of British actors.
The Hulu comedy-mystery follows Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as podcasting neighbours who investigate murders. This time they head to London to look into the apparent murder of Tina Fey’s Cinda Canning. The season premieres Tuesday, December 8, on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally, with new episodes released weekly.
Tennant is now keeping fan expectations in check. In a recent chat about the return of ‘Rivals’, he called himself the definition of a cameo, and said whether it counts as a cameo or a tiny part depends on how confident he’s feeling. He still described it as a treat to be part of the show alongside such legends.
Tennant is far from the only Time Lord on the call sheet. The guest cast includes 3 ‘Doctor Who‘ stars: Tennant, who played the 10th and 14th Doctors, Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to play the role, and Peter Capaldi, the 12th Doctor.
They sit alongside a long list of other British names. Nicola Coughlan, Jim Broadbent, Richard Ayoade and Kathryn Hunter are among those joining. Martin Freeman and Geri Halliwell-Horner are on the list of recurring guest stars as well.
The interview also turned to the franchise that made him a household name. Asked whether ‘Doctor Who’ will survive, Tennant said he hopes so, and described it as a true television original that, as he told Deadline, “deserves to run forever.”
He doesn’t sound worried about the long term. He believes the series will continue in some form because the fandom will keep it alive, and he expects someone brilliant to give it a go.
He was also candid about the obstacles. Tennant said the current environment is difficult for a show that needs money behind it, and that he doesn’t know where that money would come from. He added that he’s out of the loop now because the people he knows are no longer involved.
That frankness makes sense given where the show stands. The BBC cancelled the planned 2026 Christmas special, and showrunner Russell T Davies and producer Bad Wolf are exiting as the show goes out to competitive tender. Sources told Deadline the series may not return until 2028 at the very earliest, with one producer predicting a wait of up to 5 years.
Fans are also still puzzling over the last big twist. The previous era ended with the 15th Doctor regenerating into Billie Piper, who played companion Rose Tyler. Piper has since said she is not the next Doctor and is Rose Tyler “in hiatus.” Her answer leaves plenty of room for speculation about where the story goes next.
For now, the actor has plenty on his plate. The second half of ‘Rivals’ Season 2 arrived with a 3-episode premiere on November 11, followed by weekly releases. It picks up after the shock death of Monica Baddingham, which left Tennant’s Tony devastated.
That makes this a rare stretch where he is on screen in 2 big shows at once, even if one of them asks for only a sliver of his time. Fans hoping for a bigger role will have to wait until December 8 to see how small that ‘Only Murders in the Building’ part really is.
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