Whovians is an Australian comedy panel chat show hosted by Rove McManus, which screens on ABC. Rove engages with a team of four celebrity "Whovians", that is fans of science fiction television series Doctor Who, to analyse, critique and unravel the mysteries of the program. The first episode screened on 16 April 2017 on ABC TV Plus as a companion piece to the first episode of the tenth series of Doctor Who after it aired on ABC. The second season began 8 October 2018 on ABC TV Plus as a companion piece to the first episode of the eleventh series.
The show regularly features fans such as Tegan Higginbotham, Adam Richard, Steven "Bajo" O'Donnell and Justin Hamilton. Guest fans have included Geraldine Quinn, Jordan Raskopoulos, Stephen Conroy, Alice Fraser, Petra Elliott, Rhianna Patrick, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Tasma Walton, Paul Verhoeven, Bridie Connell, Celia Pacquola, Dave Callan, Cal Wilson and Stewart "Stav" Davidson.
Each season includes a number of regular opinion pieces, comedy segments and video packages. These have included:
On 17 December 2019, ABC Comedy announced that Whovians would be back following part two of the New Years Special.
On 30 December 2020, Rove McManus hinted on Twitter that Whovians would be returning for a fourth season in 2021.
However Whovians didn't return to ABC TV due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead the Newcastle Local Group from the Doctor Who Club of Australia organised a panel from the Whovians team running on Zoom to discuss each episode of Doctor Who: Flux which aired on ABC TV in late 2021.
In a 2023 interview, Adam Richard reflected on his time hosting Whovians, noting that the first series was a learning experience as the show was essentially live, recorded and aired on the same day. He described it as a fun environment, but also mentioned the challenge of receiving early, unfinished Doctor Who episodes, sometimes with visible watermarks or incomplete effects, which he found difficult as a fan.
Richard appreciated the showâÂÂs live format but expressed frustration with the way Doctor Who was being handled by ABC. He criticised the poor quality of broadcasts on the networkâÂÂs multi-channel, which he felt didnâÂÂt do justice to the showâÂÂs high production values. Despite these challenges, Richard maintained a positive view of Whovians and his role on the show.
The Sydney Morning Herald said that "Rove McManus' dissection [of each episode of Dr Who] afterwards is a fun and factoid-filled debrief."