For over 30 years, David Tennant has graced screens and stages the world over. In that time, the Scotsman has played a truly astonishing array of characters, bringing to life everything from zany aliens to chilling serial killers.
Tennant wanted to be an actor ever since he was a kid — from the tender age of three, in fact. As a pint-sized toddler, he had a larger-than-life goal: to star in one of his favorite TV shows, Doctor Who.
Yes, baby Tennant was out there in the seventies, giving us a real-life lesson on manifesting our goals. He carried around a Doctor Who doll and wrote Doctor Who essays at school. Nearly three decades later, just two days before his 34th birthday, Tennant was officially named as the iconic Tenth Doctor in the reboot of the original series — the role that, arguably, catapulted him to international fame.
Another two decades later and he’s still going strong, with even more roles under his belt. One of the most well-known of which is his memorable turn as the demon Crowley in Good Omens, the Prime Video adaptation of the Neil Gaiman book of the same name. Season 2 has wrapped filming, but hasn’t yet blessed our screens. Luckily, Tennant’s long career provides a bunch of fun streaming options to fill the dark days until we can scratch that fresh-content itch.
Here are 6 shows you can stream right now to get your Tennant fix.
Doctor Who – HBO Max
Oh, come on, you’ve got to start here! While true diehards will say that watching Doctor Who should start with William Hartnell (or at the very least Christopher Eccleston), there’s no reason at all not to dip back in and enjoy Tennant’s quality take on the time-traveling alien with two hearts, a fondness for humanity, and very a fancy blue phone box.
Many fans will argue that even to this day, Tennant’s episodes are some of the best and his interactions with his companions the most memorable. (In particular, of course, his brilliant romantic chemistry with Rose, played by Billie Piper, though his comedic timing with Catherine Tate’s Donna deserves just as much kudos.)
If you don’t want to choose between your Doctors, though, you’re in luck — all 12 seasons of the reboot are available for streaming on HBO Max.
Jessica Jones – Disney+
If watching Tennant in Doctor Who has left you wanting to see what else he can do, then switch over to Disney+ and check out former Netflix series Jessica Jones to start to get an appreciation of what this Royal Shakespeare Company actor can really do!
Creepy. Depraved. Obsessed. Tennant as Kilgrave, the Purple Man, is hailed as one of the best MCU television villains. He does a brilliant job at making him feel threatening and yet sympathetic in fleeting moments, so while the audience is doubtless repulsed and horrified by his wickedness, we still, somehow, find him hard to hate. Tennant is utterly compelling in this role and steals every scene he’s in — and that’s with some stiff competition, sharing the screen with a whole cast of brilliant actors from Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad) to Carrie-Ann Moss (The Matrix).
DuckTales – Disney+
Tennant is never an actor you can put in a box! If you want to take a break from manipulative supervillains or even from live-action, how do cartoon ducks sound?
Tennant has done quite a few voice acting jobs in his career, from Doctor Who audiobooks and radio plays to 2017’s DuckTales reboot, where he voices Scrooge McDuck. For a remake of a nostalgic kids’ cartoon that no one had even thought to ask for before it was announced, Disney’s version of this classic show was received really well by critics and viewers alike. The series ended up running for 75 episodes over three seasons.
It’s available to watch now on Disney+.
Broadchurch – Prime Video
Another critically acclaimed series that Tennant has a big part in is Broadchurch. With three seasons to dig into, this is a great one for people who love their crime shows!
Set in the seaside town of Broadchurch, the story focuses on the sleepy community in the wake of the murder of an 11-year-old boy. Tennant plays local police officer DI Alec Hardy, who must deal with a working partner who feels the job should have been hers (Olivia Colman, The Crown), a media frenzy, and the residents of the town beginning to turn on each other.
Broadchurch is compelling and binge-able, and Tennant plays taciturn Alec Hardy masterfully. Edge of your seat viewing on Prime Video.
Around the World in 80 Days – PBS Masterpiece
Tennant plays Phileas Fogg in Masterpiece’s new version of this old Jules Verne tale. There didn’t seem to be a lot of buzz about this show when it first came out, but there are a lot of glowing reviews from viewers out there that say it’s one of Tennant’s best roles!
The show is heralded as engaging and well-written, and every episode is full of adventure. Set up so that every episode is a story in its own right, this version of Around the World in 80 Days doesn’t set out to be a faithful adaptation but rather a historically set modern interpretation of the old material. It’s really different from Tennant’s other recent series, which makes it great. (And he’s got to get some props for disguising his Scottish accent so flawlessly, surely…)
With a PBS Masterpiece subscription, you can binge the whole thing, and it’s well worth doing.
Des – Prime Video
Serial killers. There are two types of people when it comes to serial killer TV, and I think we all know which we are by now — if you want nothing to do with them, then maybe Des won’t be for you, but if anyone can persuade you then, it might be Tennant.
On the other hand, if you’re one of the legions of people that find serial killers fascinating, then fire up Prime Video and prepare to be gripped. This three-part miniseries based on Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen not only broke a live viewing benchmark for its original network when it aired, but it also won Tennant an Emmy. Need I say more? Alright then — he finally gets to really use his Scottish accent for a change, a real rarity that just shouldn’t be missed.
Tennant has so many more projects out there that you can find some of his excellent performances on almost any streaming platform — and that’s without even starting to talk about his movies! From bringing us the delightfully creepy Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to being the leading man in cheesy romcom The Decoy Bride, he really does have something for everyone.
Upcoming projects for Tennant include Litvinenko and The Amazing Maurice, both expected to release in 2023 — and of course — the second season of Good Omens. While there’s no confirmed release date for the season yet, keep an eye on Nerds and Beyond for the latest updates!
