Doctor Who season 13 will officially be just six episodes in length, with Jodie Whittaker subsequently starring in two specials in 2022 — before one final, feature-length adventure marking the BBC's centenary. The BBC is beginning to gear up marketing for Doctor Who season 13, which has been confirmed to be Jodie Whittaker's final season as the Doctor. Showrunner Chris Chibnall will be departing alongside the actress, claiming he made a "three-season pact" with Whittaker to leave together.
Production of Doctor Who season 13 has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, and as a result, Chibnall has moved to a serialized format; this will essentially be one long story, with a number of high-profile actors playing recurring secondary characters. This is actually a traditional approach to Doctor Who, with the classic series running multi-episode stories that featured cliffhanger endings.
The BBC has officially confirmed that Doctor Who season 13 will be just six episodes in length, followed by a trilogy of specials in 2022 - one more than had previously been planned. The first will air on New Year's Day 2022, with the second in Spring and the third in Fall, as part of the BBC's centenary celebrations. This will see Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor regenerate, officially passing the baton on to the Fourteenth Doctor.
There have been reports of Jodie Whittaker's departure for months now, and the BBC avoided commenting on these at the show's panel at SDCC 2021 - clearly aiming to focus that squarely on the upcoming season. Chibnall's decision to finish his tenure as showrunner is more of a surprise, though, and it places tremendous pressure upon Doctor Who season 13. The Chibnall era has been marked by a determination to rewrite the show's lore, revealing the Doctor is not a Time Lord at all, but rather is the base genetic code for the entire Time Lord race. This "Timeless Child" retcon has proved remarkably divisive, and Chibnall will surely want to finish the story he has begun before he leaves.
Meanwhile, it seems the BBC's centenary celebrations will now feature a regeneration - setting up a brand new Doctor for 2023. That news is disappointing for fans who've felt Whittaker's potential as the Doctor simply hasn't been fulfilled by Chibnall's writing, because it means viewers will never get to see the Thirteenth Doctor without his influence. But it does mean Doctor Who will begin its 60th anniversary with both a new Doctor and a new showrunner, meaning anything could happen.
Source: BBC