With the show's main star Peter Capaldi bowing out, a lot of fans thought "Doctor Who" season 11 would be an impossibility. Fortunately, BBC Worldwide signed a new deal with Shanghai Media Group to extend the show for five more seasons. This contract confirms the upcoming season's reprisal but the big question is, when will it be released?
No specific date has been announced just yet. The only details that have been reported so far is that a new executive producer will take over the show in 2018. Chris Chibnall, known for his work on sci-fi series "Torchwood," will replace longstanding executive producer Steven Moffat.
In the past, Chibnall has written five episodes of "Doctor Who." He was chosen by BBC as Moffat's successor because of his impressive ability to deliver good ratings from 2013 to 2017 with crime drama "Broadchurch."
ScreenRant reported that his first task is to look for a new actor to take over Capaldi's shoes. The said process will start in the middle of 2017 and will be "completed in the autumn," according to a separate report by Radio Times.
Both reports contradict The Mirror's previous suggestion that a replacement for Capaldi has already been cast and will appear in season 10. Back in April 16, the publication reported that BBC opted for a younger actor in the hopes of improving the sales of "Doctor Who" merchandise such as toys, books, and DVDs.
The Mirror's report pointed out that BBC wanted a return to the "David Tennant era" which featured a "dashing male lead" accompanied by a female assistant.
Aside from having a new star and executive producer, there is another major change that fans will be seeing in "Doctor Who" season 11. Chibnall may shift from the traditional "monster-of-the-week" approach to a season-long storyline.
Speaking with Royal Television Society, he revealed that he has new ideas for the show which he thought BBC would oppose to. "I had ideas about what I wanted to do with it. When I went to them and said, 'This is what I would do', I actually expected them to say, 'Ooh, let's talk about that,' but they said: 'Great!'"
Chibnall did not reveal what his ideas were but when asked if he may include a season-long storyline like what he did in "Broadchurch," he responded, "Yes. What the BBC was after was risk and boldness."
