Everything you need to know about Doctor Who season 11, including latest news, release date, and much more!
Doctor Who Season 11 Release Date
Doctor Who season 11 is expected to premiere in 2018, sometime after the 2017 Christmas Special.
Doctor Who Season 11 New Doctor
It's going to be hard to be objective about this bit of breaking news, but here goes: Peter Capaldi, the man who became the Twelfth Doctor in late 2013, will step down from Doctor Who after series 10. He revealed the news on BBC Radio during an interview. Here's a clip from the heartbreaking chat:
"I feel it's time to move on," Capaldi told BBC Radio. "I think Christmas 2017 I’ve just been told."
Capaldi will leave along with exiting showrunner Steven Moffat, who is also done after the 2017 Christmas special. It had previously been rumored that Capaldi could return for series 11 under new showrunner Chris Chibnall, and the actor had confirmed a few months back that he'd been asked to stay on the show through the transition. But it seems like the end of the Moffat era will also be the end of the Capaldi years of Doctor Who.
While Capaldi will say goodbye to the TARDIS in 2017, he confirmed that he's not filmed his regeneration scene just yet and there's still a bit of work to be done on the upcoming series. There's also been no talk of who might replace Capaldi for series 11. (Richard Madden [Game of Thrones] was a rumored favorite at one point, but take that with a tablespoon of salt.)
"One of the greatest privileges of being Doctor Who is to see the world at its best," Capaldi said about his time in the TARDIS. "From our brilliant crew and creative team working for the best broadcaster on the planet, to the viewers and fans whose endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness points to a brighter future ahead. I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s been cosmic."
Doctor Who Season 11 Cast
Peter Capaldi will leave the show after series 10, although he had previously confirmed that he'd been asked to say on for series 11.
“I’ve been asked to stay on, which is lovely - and I think Chris Chibnall’s fantastic and a wonderful choice,” Capaldi told BBC Radio Scotland while promoting the series 9 DVD release last year. "I haven’t made my mind up," he added.
“To be perfectly honest, it’s so far away in the future… you know, Doctor Who is a a very difficult thing to say goodbye to - and I don’t want to make that decision right now,” he continued. “They’ve asked me to stay on, so when I am forced to make that decision, I will make it.”
Capaldi's exit means that Chibnall will need to find a new Doctor to occupy the TARDIS. Since the Twelfth Doctor is expected to make his exit during the 2017 Christmas special, there's still some time before we know who will be replacing him.
Doctor Who Season 11 Showrunner
It's confirmed: Steven Moffat is to leave his post as showrunner on Doctor Who after series 10. The BBC has confirmed that he will be departing the show, and that regular Doctor Who scribe and Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall will be taking over the job.
Moffat said that it "feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him."
Of his successor, Moffat said that "it took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip."
Chibnall will not be the lone executive producer of Doctor Who when Steven Moffat departs as showrunner after the 2017 Christmas special. Back in July 2016, the BBC announced on Twitter that Matt Strevens will be joining Chibnall at the helm of Doctor Who series 11.
Here's the Tweet (which, for unknown reasons, has since been deleted)...
Matt Strevens began his TV career by script editing for EastEnders back in 2004. He then became a producer for The Bill, overseeing 28 episodes of the iconic police series before moving on to the restaurant drama Raw in 2010.
After Raw came 8 episodes of the teen show Skins, followed by 16 installments of Channel 4's unruly-youngsters-with-superpowers spectacular Misfits.
Next, Strevens produced An Adventure in Space and Time, the wonderful TV movie about Doctor Who's origins that tied into the show's 50th anniversary celebrations. Since then, he's worked on the legal drama Silk, London-set series Capital, and Russell T. Davies' Channel 4 show Cucumber.
Strevens said this to GamesRadar around the time of An Adventure in Space and Time...
"I grew up watching [Doctor Who]. My Doctor was Tom Baker and then Peter Davison. I’m a huge Peter Davison fan. I remember the 20th anniversary being "The Five Doctors" and Richard Hurndall playing the part of the original. And I’m a fan of the reboot as well. I really love what Russell and now Steven have done with it."
Right this second, Mr. Strevens is replying to congratulatory messages on his Twitter page. It's official, then, even though the BBC did delete their official announcement.
We look forward to seeing what Strevens and Chibnall do with the show. And we'll bring you more Doctor Who news as we hear it.
Doctor Who Season 11 Rumors
Doctor Who rumors from tabloid papers are never in short supply. Sometimes they prove to be right on the money, and sometimes they're dead wrong. It feels important to mention that before jumping into this one. Right, here we go...
The Mirror has published an article claiming that incoming Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall will receive a "clean slate" when he takes over from Steven Moffat after next year's series 10 and the 2017 Christmas special.
Unnamed insider sources told The Mirror that Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie will leave after series 10, giving Chibnall an opportunity to "start afresh for his first series."
The Mirror also suggests that the Thirteenth Doctor will be played by a younger actor. BBC hopes that a younger Doctor will help boost the sales of toys, books, DVDs, and other merch.
According to the tabloid, one anonymous source said, "BBC management wants a return to the format from the David Tennant era, when you had a dashing male lead and young female companion."
Of course, there's nothing new about a showrunner coming in and starting from a blank slate: Russell T. Davies' run ended with David Tennant's regeneration, paving the way for Steven Moffat to introduce Matt Smith's Doctor and a whole new cast of supporting characters in his first episode in charge.
Interestingly, this story came to light on the same day that Eddie Redmayne told BBC Radio 1 that he'd be open to taking on the role of The Doctor.
“Would I do it? Yeah! It’s a great show," he said. "I do see the resemblance. I see the scarf, I see the coat, I see the bow tie. [...] I’m also a huge fan of those actors, I love Matt Smith. I suppose the briefcase [in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them] has a TARDIS vibe to it – so yeah!”
Redmayne did add this caveat, though: “It looks like a lot of work. I’ve spoken to Matt [Smith] and those schedules are pretty rigorous. Maybe when I’m 73!”
We'll bring you updates on this rumor as we hear more.