There's a huge amount of excitement surrounding showrunner Russell T Davies' return to Doctor Who, particularly as it will kick off with the return of David Tennant, this time as the Fourteenth Doctor. He replaces Jodie Whittaker for next year's 60th-anniversary specials, of course, though the baton will eventually be passed to Ncuti Gatwa.
The Sex Education star is going to be joined by Millie Gibson as new companion Ruby Sunday, and they're already hard at work on their first season together (which has received a major upgrade courtesy of a financial contribution from the franchise's new streaming home outside the UK, Disney+).
In the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (via Bleeding Cool), Davies sheds some light on the franchise's future, kicking off by confirming that Christmas Specials are making a comeback!
"For the first time ever, I'm writing a Christmas Special at Christmas!" he exclaimed, adding: "The 2023 script has been long since signed off. The new one is for end-of-year 2024!"
However, with good news comes some bad as season 14 looks set to be a little shorter than what we've grown used to. Confirming it will consist of eight episodes, Davis acknowledged "that's fewer episodes than the last full season," but requested that fans "give us time. We have plans, and that's a promise!"
After what will eventually be a thirteen-month wait for new Doctor Who content, the showrunner concludes by saying that, moving forward, there's "a serious plan" that consists of, "annual 'Doctor Who,' no gap years, lots of content, on and on."
It's clearly an exciting time for the franchise, and Davies has plans to get this series to a place where it's consistently on our television screens. Many fans hope that eventually leads to a movie, of course, and it really does feel like the sky is the limit with the showrunner back at the helm of this iconic sci-fi property.
Stay tuned for updates.