Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor

Good news and bad news for Doctor Who fans today. The good news? Series 13 is officially resuming production. The bad news? We’ll be getting fewer episodes when it finally drops.

Yes, this is yet another concession to the time of COVID. The coronavirus pandemic delayed filming worldwide, including for the latest season of Doctor Who. With the pandemic ongoing, returning to set requires additional safety measures. In a press release announcing the return to filming, BBC America said the added time constraints forced by the safety protocols would lead to fewer episodes being completed. Instead of 11 episodes, series 13 will only film 8.

Current showrunner Chris Chibnall addressed the return to set and the reduced episode count.

“In this strangest of years, the Doctor Who production team have worked wonders to get the show back into production. We’re thrilled to be back making the show. Given the complexity of making Doctor Who, and with new and rigorous COVID working protocols, it’s going to take us a little longer to film each episode, meaning we expect to end up with eight episodes, rather than the usual 11. But rest assured, the ambition, humor, fun and scares you expect from Doctor Who will all still be firmly in place. For everyone around the world, this is a challenging period – but the Doctor never shirks from a challenge!” said Chibnall.

We’re not sure how long it will take to complete series 13, but fans can look forward to more of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor soon. This year’s holiday special, “Revolution of the Daleks,” completed filming before the pandemic. So, we’ll still be able to finish off 2020 with a little Doctor Who.

There isn’t a trailer for the special yet, but you can check out some first look photos and plot details here.

Source: BBC America