BBC One has recently renewed "Doctor Who" for another season without announcing the premiere date. So far, the network has remained mum even when reached by several publications for a comment. However, a recent report has shed some light on when fans can expect season 11 to hit the screens with a new doctor.
After interviewing long-standing executive producer Steven Moffat, Broadcast suggested that the renewal is going to make a premiere in autumn 2018. According to the U.K.-based publication, it could air earlier but the release date was pushed back because Moffat's replacement, writer and producer Chris Chibnall is still caught up in his previous commitment with ITV's "Broadchurch."
Digital Spy is one of the publications who tried to reach out to BBC One. Since they are not able to obtain any information from the network, they speculated that the filming will start early January of 2018. They cited that whenever the show premieres a new season in the autumn, the production has started filming within the first week of the year.
Following the departure of lead actor Peter Capaldi, "Doctor Who" season 11 has been hinted to feature a female doctor. In the last episode of season 10, the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) met with The Master (John Simm) for what seemed like the last time. While the two were watching from the sidelines as Bill (Pearl Mackie) was preparing to fight unknown enemies from a black hole, the Doctor asked the Master, "Will the future be all girl?" The Doctor then answered, "We can only hope."
To date, the female Doctor theory has yet to be confirmed but Chibnall has previously expressed that he is open to the idea. When asked by the East Anglian Daily Times if he is considering casting the show's first female Doctor, he said, "Nothing is ruled out but I don't want the casting to be a gimmick and that's all I can say."
Aside from possibly introducing a new, female doctor, there are going to be other major changes in the show. For one, its storyline is expected to be entirely different from what the show's audience is used to. In previous installments of "Doctor Who," the storyline was made up of seemingly non-related events that are eventually tied up together. Chibnall could change that approach to a single, season-long storyline, according to the Royal Television Society.
