It's all-change for Doctor Who in 2022, but while replacing Jodie Whittaker should be simple enough, selecting Chris Chibnall's successor will define the franchise's future. Rumors of the Thirteenth Doctor's impending exit had been rife for some time before the announcement eventually came in July 2021. Doctor Who season 13 will air in Fall 2021, to be followed by 3 one-off specials in 2022, rounding off Whittaker's time in the TARDIS. 2022 will also mark the end of Chris Chibnall's tenure as Doctor Who showrunner, after he joined the show alongside Whittaker in 2017.
Predictably, current discourse is centered squarely on casting the Fourteenth Doctor, with a host of exciting names being thrown around by fans and news outlets online. Less attention is being paid to potential incoming showrunners - such is the nature of TV and film, where on-screen talent always grabs the headlines. But of the two vacancies that need filling, Doctor Who's success is more dependent on finding the best possible behind-the-scenes replacement for Chibnall than it is casting a new Doctor.
If Doctor Who's track record is anything to go by, whoever replaces Whittaker will be a talented and compelling Time Lord. Across 60 years of regeneration there has never a bad Doctor, only bad stories that held them back. Colin Baker's era was patchy, Sylvester McCoy's recovered after a bad start, and Paul McGann's TV movie was a misfire, but the actors were never at fault, and all three deserved better material (which Big Finish has generally been happy to provide). The same goes for Whittaker - a great actress and a fascinating Doctor who rarely got scripts benefiting her awesome performance. With a spotless record when it comes to picking The Doctor, the BBC would need to work very hard indeed to mess up casting the Fourteenth Doctor.
On the other hand, finding someone to inherit Chibnall's showrunner gig is a daunting and thankless task - albeit an all-important and show-defining one. Doctor Who's falling ratings and divisive recent form are solely down to the direction and stories being told, rather than The Doctor herself, and only by hiring the right replacement for Chibnall can the TARDIS be steadied. Doctor Who needs its edge back after 2 seasons of unabashed optimism, needs a handful of stories each season that stick in the memory (the Davies and Moffat eras were great at this), needs villains that aren't ripoffs of past baddies, and really needs a character arc for The Doctor that doesn't involve tossing 50 years of canon away inside a single hour. Since these directions will be mapped out entirely by the new showrunner, it's imperative that the BBC lands the right person for the job.
Unfortunately, this is where the challenge lies. Both Steven Moffat and Chris Chibnall were chosen for showrunner after their respective work on Doctor Who as writers. Moffat penned "Blink," "The Empty Child" and "The Girl In The Fireplace," while Chibnall contributed a number of episodes from season 5 onward, including "The Hungry Earth" and "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship." With the best episodes of Whittaker's era written by Chibnall himself, there's no obvious candidate worthy of promotion, which means Doctor Who may be forced to recruit externally for the first time. Alternatively, Doctor Who could take the TARDIS into its own past and recruit a writer from previous seasons. Perusing Doctor Who's writing alumni, Sarah Dollard looks to be a prime contender. As well as delivering both "Thin Ice" and "Face The Raven" during Peter Capaldi's era, Dollard more recently worked on the hugely popular Bridgerton. Could she be tempted by the Doctor Who top job, should an offer be made?