Doctor Who is set to return for its 13th season (39th overall) later this year, following the temporal adventures of the Doctor and his companions against the universe’s greatest threats and monsters. This will be the third and final season with Jodie Whittaker in the lead role, with showrunner Chris Chibnall set to depart as well.
Doctor Who Series 13 is set to pick up after the departures of Graham (Bradley Walsh) and Ryan (Tosin Cole) in the 2021 New Years special, Revolution of the Daleks. Yaz (Mandip Gill) will return alongside a new companion, Dan (John Bishop), setting up what is described as “The Doctor’s greatest adventure to date”.
With that in mind, here’s everything we know about Doctor Who season 13, and how Jodie Whittaker is set to step down as the first woman to play Time Lord.
Release date: Development of Doctor Who Series 13 began in November 2019, but, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, production has been delayed. As a result, the next season is expected to air in the second half of 2021. Three specials will then launch in 2022, ending the final days of the 13th Doctor.
To throw: Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill and John Bishop form the main cast of the series for the coming season.
Who will play the next Doctor? This is unknown at the moment, but we have a few suggestions on this …
Doctor Who season 13 release date
No official release date has been set for the Doctor Who season 13 premiere outside of 2021.
Filming for series 13 began in November 2020 before ending in August 2021. Due to Covid-19, there will be six episodes instead of the 11 planned, with two specials already filmed for 2022. A third special is expected. then be broadcast to coincide. with the BBC’s centenary celebrations in the fall of 2022, which will also be the swan song of Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall.
“Jodie and I made a ‘three plus series’ pact at the start of this once in a lifetime explosion. So now our shift is over and we are handing over the keys to the TARDIS,” Chibnall wrote in a blog confirming the torque outputs from the emission (via the BBC).
Doctor Who originally launched on November 23, 1963, so it’s possible the BBC might want to tie that date to the final season in some way. For example, if it is looking to end Season 13 by that date (November 23 being a Tuesday this year), the first episode would air on October 17, 2021. This, of course, would only apply if the The show is sticking to its weekly rollout on Sundays – and that’s pure guesswork on our part.
For now, we’re in the dark – but with the end of 2021 in sight, you probably won’t have to wait that long for an announcement.
Doctor Who Season 3 Trailer
The Season 13 premiere trailer debuted on the BBC’s Doctor Who panel during the 2021 San Diego Virtual Comic-Con. The 42-second preview shows very little, but gives us a brief glimpse of a a number of new planets, as well as newcomers Dan and Vinder. The doctor and his returning companion Yaz are also very present.
A few moments to highlight (in chronological order) include: killer robots, the TARDIS traversing the time vortex, Dan falling face down in an environment that appears Egyptian, the Doctor and Yaz flying over a planet while holding onto a glider , and Yaz tells a guilty-looking doctor that she’s “hiding something.”
The cast of Doctor Who season 13
The full list of cast members confirmed so far for Doctor Who season 13 can be seen below:
- Jodie Whittaker: The Doctor
- Mandip Gill: Yasmin Khan
- John Bishop: Dan Lewis
- Jacob Anderson: Winner
Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill will reprise their respective roles, while Chris Chibnall will once again act as showrunner. Ed Hime and Maxine Alderton both return as writers, with Segun Akinola also composing the thirteenth series after joining Season 11. Jamie Magnus Stone and Azhur Saleem have both been confirmed as directors for the six-episode series.
The new face of the TARDIS team will be the introduction of Dan Lewis, played by comedian John Bishop. The Liverpool-born and raised comedian had previously held roles in seasons 3 and 4 of Skins, as well as the ITV crime thriller Fearless. This is hands down the biggest role Bishop has played to date. On top of that, Jacob Anderson (better known as Gray Worm in Game of Thrones) will join as a recurring cast member.
The story of Doctor Who season 13
While few details are available on the Season 13 plot at this time, we do know that all six episodes will tell an overall story – the first time this has happened since 1986’s The Trial of a Timelord series starring Colin Baker. . The weekly cliffhangers are also very reminiscent of the classic Who with stories typically between four and six episodes.
New mate Dan will be from Liverpool (as Bishop), and appears to be a handyman from the teaser shown after Revolution of the Daleks. Vinder, meanwhile, has been described by the Game of Thrones actor himself as “fun, adventurous and dynamic.” It has also been confirmed that he has his own spaceship.
After Season 12’s controversial Timeless Child arc came to a head, many fans were left with more questions than answers. This is why we believe that the narrative surrounding who the Doctor actually is and how she became the Timeless Child will be fleshed out further – potentially something that will lead to the demise of this incarnation.
Chibnall spoke a bit about the story as part of Doctor Who Comic-Con @ Home 2021 panel: “I can tell you that we are meeting up with the Doctor and Yaz, who have been traveling together for some time, and we come to meet them in the middle of the adventure,” he said. “Then they stumble upon a man called Dan Lewis.”
Most recently, during the Edinburgh TV Festival, BBC drama director Piers Wenger commented on the show’s direction (via Elliot González).
“As with any change of Doctor and showrunner, we will be radical […] Change is coming, ”he told attendees.
After the three specials due to take place in 2022, the 13th Doctor will regenerate into a currently unknown actor. Speculation is already at the rendezvous who will take over the TARDIS, but no official name is likely to be announced until next year.
