Doctor Who Series 11: Everything We Know So Far

With only a few days left of filming, series eleven is nearly upon us. But official announcements on what we can expect to see when Doctor Who returns this Autumn haven’t exactly been forthcoming. Even at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con preview event, producer Chris Chibnall remained tight-lipped. The two trailers released so far give little away, with no monsters in sight and not even a snippet of dialogue from previously unveiled guest stars. The focus is solely on the Doctor and her three new friends.

When asked why all the secrecy, Chibnall explained that he wants the show to be a truly communal experience. No one should have the advantage of insider knowledge, not even the Doctor’s most passionate fans. But this is far more than a nostalgic yearning for the days when families used to gather around their CRT television sets to watch their favourite shows together.

Spoilers mean more to the fans than the casual audience, especially if they relate to elements from the show’s history. They create a sense of anticipation (or irritation) only to those already invested in the programme, and that’s the real reason for the producer’s reluctance to share them. For if there is one buzzword worth repeating about series eleven it is ‘inclusiveness’.

This is Doctor Who for the many, not the few. We might not know much in terms of content, but there’s plenty of information already out there aimed at encouraging both new viewers and longstanding fans to tune in.

It had been heavily rumoured that series 11 might form one continuous story, in line with other blockbuster fantasy series such as Game of Thrones and of course Chris Chibnall’s acclaimed crime drama Broadchurch. At comic-con Chibnall set the record straight. Each episode will form a story in itself with a clear beginning, middle and end.

“What we want is for people to feel like we've got the range and variety of Doctor Who this year. So if you've never seen it before, you're gonna fall in love with it, and if you have seen it, you're gonna get those things that you love about the show across the 10 episodes.”

But the lack of two-parters suggests that each story will be connected instead to a wider arc, thus allowing room for those much-loved end of episode cliffhangers. Such an approach will be familiar to viewers of shows such as Gotham and Westworld.

There had also be mutterings that the BBC was dropping Doctor Who from its Christmas schedule, but producer Matt Strevens and Chibnall teased that despite being contracted for ten episodes they seemed to be making an eleventh. Whether this extra adventure will air on Christmas Day remains to be seen, but the indications are that the BBC is continuing to make Doctor Who an important part of its festive output.

For those who feel slightly short-changed by the reduced run of stories, there is perhaps comfort to be had in the fact that these episodes will be fifty minutes long (rather than the usual forty-five minutes), with the series opener extending to sixty-five minutes.