The eleventh series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who premiered on 7 October 2018 and concluded on 9 December 2018. The series is the first to be led by Chris Chibnall as head writer and executive producer, alongside executive producers Matt Strevens and Sam Hoyle, after Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin stepped down after the tenth series. This series is the eleventh to air following the programme's revival in 2005 and is the thirty-seventh season overall. It also marks the beginning of the third production era of the revived series, following Russell T Davies' original run from 2005 to 2010, and Moffat's from 2010 to 2017. The eleventh series was broadcast on Sundays, a first in the programme's history; regular episodes of the revived era were previously broadcast on Saturdays. The series was followed by a New Year's Day special episode, "Resolution", instead of the traditional annual Christmas Day special.
The series introduces Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, a new incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in her TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside. The series also introduces Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, and Mandip Gill as the Doctor's newest travelling companions, Graham O'Brien, Ryan Sinclair, and Yasmin Khan, respectively. The series follows the Thirteenth Doctor as she initially searches for her lost TARDIS, inadvertently bringing Graham, Ryan, and Yasmin with her on her travels. All three later contemplate returning to their normal lives but decide to continue travelling with the Doctor. Rather than an overall story arc similar to those in previous series, each episode of the series served mostly as a standalone story.
With the exception of Chibnall, every writer and director who worked on the eleventh series was new to the programme. The ten episodes were directed by Jamie Childs, Mark Tonderai, Sallie Aprahamian, and Jennifer Perrott, and written by Malorie Blackman, Ed Hime, Pete McTighe, Vinay Patel, Joy Wilkinson, and Chris Chibnall, who wrote five episodes for the series solo, co-writing an additional episode with Blackman. Filming for the series commenced in October 2017 and concluded in August 2018.
Episodes
For the first time since the seventh series, and thus the second time in the programme's history, each episode of the series served mostly as a standalone story with no multi-parters.
Casting
The series introduced Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor. Her predecessor Peter Capaldi departed from his role as the Twelfth Doctor after the tenth series, having played the role for three series. His final appearance was in the 2017 Christmas special, "Twice Upon a Time". Moffat stated in February 2017 that Chibnall tried to persuade the actor to continue into the eleventh series, but despite this, Capaldi still decided to depart.
The search for the actor to portray the Thirteenth Doctor, led by Chibnall, began later in 2017 after he completed work on the third series of the ITV series Broadchurch, for which he was also the head writer and executive producer. Chibnall had the final say on the actor, although the decision also involved Charlotte Moore and Piers Wenger, the director of content and head of drama for the BBC respectively. On 16 July 2017, it was announced after the 2017 Wimbledon Championships men's finals that Whittaker would portray the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor.
After the tenth series concluded, it was confirmed that neither Matt Lucas nor Pearl Mackie would be reprising their roles for the eleventh series as companions Nardole and Bill Potts. Consequently, the eleventh series introduced a new set of companions, including Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, and Mandip Gill as Graham O'Brien, Ryan Sinclair, and Yasmin Khan, respectively. Walsh had been a favourite for the role since rumours of his casting began in August 2017. Actress Sharon D. Clarke also had a recurring role throughout the series as Graham's wife Grace.