There were some reports, recently, that entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) was looking to take on something of a Herculean task as far as some were concerned: bringing back the Doctor Who series. These rumors, however, may have been a bit premature. Still, what Warner had to say about Doctor Who proved interesting enough to shareholders that they sent shares up nearly 1.5% in the closing minutes of Tuesday’s trading.
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The rumor may have gone a bit too far from the start, but actually, may have hit closer to reality than some might expect. Casey Bloys, content chairman and CEO for HBO and HBO Max, noted that no such deal has been presented, at least, not yet. Bloys was not willing to dismiss the whole concept outright, sticking to “never say never.” But Bloys also had no idea this was even a possibility to begin with as no one had, as yet, brought it up to him.
Given that there was discussion about this well before now, the fact that Bloys seems utterly oblivious to the idea raises some concerns. But BBC Director of Drama Lindsay Salt noted that the Doctor Who brand was “…one of the BBC’s most treasured brands…” so it was likely to stay within the BBC’s confines. But a co-production effort was not out of line, and needed to be done “…in the right way,” Salt noted. So right now, a BBC-Warner co-production of Doctor Who is not out of line, but not currently set for a release.
Rabbit Season
Warner, meanwhile, is preparing to dedicate the month of April to the Looney Tunes cast with Rabbit Season, a month-long event geared toward celebrating the long-running cartoon institution. Not only will the shows get a fresh airing, but the crew will also make their way to games and other platforms.
Reports note that perhaps the face of Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny, will make an appearance in the online battle game Fortnite. Bugs will come with two unique pickaxes, his classic “What’s up, Doc?” emote, and all the zaniness you would expect from dropping Bugs Bunny onto an island of gun-toting lunatics. The newer Looney Tunes content, like Bugs Bunny Builders and Tiny Toons Looniversity, will hit HBO Max, and classic Warner shorts will stream free on Tubi.
Is WBD Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on WBD stock based on 12 Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 165.33% rally in its share price over the past year, the average WBD price target of $29.75 per share implies 8.42% upside potential.
