Jodie Whittaker Confirms Return for "Doctor Who" Season 12 (Exclusive)
by Alex Ritman
12/7/18


The first female Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker, will be returning for another season.

While it was largely presumed that Whittaker wouldn't be handing over her sonic screwdriver anytime soon, the typically tight-tipped BBC hadn't yet confirmed who would be playing Doctor Who for season 12 of the cult sci-fi series, and there was always the chance that she could go the way of Christopher Eccleston, who managed just one stint as the Time Lord.

"I really can’t wait to step back in and get to work again," Whittaker told The Hollywood Reporter. "It’s such an incredible role. It's been an extraordinary journey so far and I'm not quite ready to hand it over yet."





Whittaker's unveiling as the star of "Doctor Who" last year was met with widespread praise, and her first season in the role — the first female Doctor in the show's 55-year history — has so far been hugely well received by the critics.

The opening episode of season 11, "The Woman Who Fell to Earth," amassed consolidated ratings of 10.9 million in the U.K., making it the biggest season launch for the show since it returned in its modern form (Eccleston’s first episode reached 10.8 million, when non-TV viewing was far less of a phenomenon).

The 11th season draws to a close on Sunday, with the show returning for a New Year's Day special. Season 12 is expected to start shooting in early 2019.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jodie-whittaker-confirms-return-doctor-who-season-12-1167388

"Doctor Who" Renewed for 2020
by Bruce Haring
December 9, 2018


The official Doctor Who on BBC America Twitter account revealed on Dec. 9th:

"The Doctor and her friends will land again with an all-new season on @BBCAMERICA in early 2020. #DoctorWho"




"Doctor Who" claims to be the fastest-growing scripted series in all of television this year in the US. with gains in Nielsen live/same day viewership over the previous season in total viewers and both the 18-49 and 25-54 demos.

The long-running series claims it’s up 47% in total viewers, 46% in adults 18-49, and 32% in adults 25-54.




Growth came from women 18-34, whose audience doubled from last season, ranking "Doctor Who" among the top-15 cable dramas this year in this hard-to-reach demo. In Nielsen live+7 ratings, "Doctor Who" is averaging 1.6 million viewers per episode (through eight episodes), up 20% percent from the 12th Doctor’s final season (1.3 million) and ahead of the first seasons of the 9th, 10th, and 11th Doctors.

"Doctor Who" also ranks among the year’s top five drama series on social media.

https://deadline.com/2018/12/doctor-who-new-years-special-trailer-unleashed-via-bbc-america-show-renewed-for-2020-1202516791/

I think they are stupid to not immediately sign they actor playing the Doctor to a 3 to 5 year contract, it just causes so much drama every time they have to scramble to find a replacement whenever an actor suddenly feels they've outgrown the show or are somehow too good to play the role that made them famous.


That said I think Jodie Whittaker has done a good job, just wish they had more episodes

I think they are stupid to not immediately sign they actor playing the Doctor to a 3 to 5 year contract, it just causes so much drama every time they have to scramble to find a replacement whenever an actor suddenly feels they've outgrown the show or are somehow too good to play the role that made them famous.


That said I think Jodie Whittaker has done a good job, just wish they had more episodes

I started watching Doctor Who Season 12 mainly because of Bradley Walsh and I think that Jodie Whittaker does a great job as the first female Doctor Who but I don't know why BBC America makes the Doctor Who seasons so short and doesn't show the rest of the season until 2020. But it's great that Jodie Whittaker will return to Doctor Who because she's cool
Bestie

Hi, Bestie! I think Matt was a good Who character. What do you think?
DTK

Doctor Who alum Alex Kingston admits she was originally "conflicted" about Jodie Whittaker's casting (https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a26529885/doctor-who-river-song-alex-kingston-jodie-whittaker-casting-peter-capaldi-return/)

"To be honest, at first I was a little conflicted because I just thought, 'All those little boys, how are they going to handle it?" the ER and Doctor Who alum said in a British TV interview. "But then I thought when Peter Capaldi played the Doctor, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, how are those young kids going to be able to relate to – sorry Peter – somebody who could be their grandfather?' But, they all totally embraced him and it's because he is the Doctor and Jodie is the Doctor because it's the same spirit inside so it doesn’t matter."