Filming Begins on 'Doctor Who' Season 14

While Doctor Who fans worldwide are still trying to adjust to multiple big changes in the world of the franchise ahead of its sixtieth anniversary next year---Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker's exit, former-and-maybe-now-current-who-knows Doctor David Tennant's return, former showrunner Russell T. Davies' triumphant homecoming, the hopeful thought that we might finally get some real closure for Catherine Tate's tragic Donna Noble, the show's move to Disney+ in the U.S.---behind-the-scenes, things appear as if they are trucking along pretty much as usual. 

New Doctor Ncuti Gatwa appears to be settling right in (internet disputes about whether he'll be called the Fourteenth or the Fifteenth Doctor notwithstanding). The BBC announced Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson will be playing his companion, Ruby Sunday. The duo took some adorable promotional shots in front of a TARDIS, looking for all the world like a 2022 update on Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. (Though Gatwa's jacket is corduroy not leather.) And filming on their proper first series of adventures is now officially under way. (Presumably at its new home at Bad Wolf Studios in Cardiff rather than Roath Lock Studios where it has been based since 2012).)

Granted, since we have absolutely no idea what's happening in the trio of anniversary specials that will arrive next year, it's impossible to predict what Season 14 will look like or what its story could involve by the time we get there. The brie f preview we saw after centenary special "The Power of the Doctor" was super brief and gave us only quick glimpses of Tennant, Tate, and guest star Neil Patrick Harris, whom we all assume is playing the big anniversary villain. (Toymaker? Maybe?) We know Heartstopper's Yasmin Finney is apparently playing a companion of sorts, but Gibson's official rollout pretty much means that her time in the TARDIS will somehow be Tennant-based. Other than that? Your guess is pretty much as good as ours.

One tidbit eagle-eyed fans probably caught is the fact that the clapperboard in the BBC's video announcement confirms that Dylan Holmes Williams, who has directed episodes of M. Night Shyamalan's Apple TV+ series Servant, will be helming the season's inaugural episode. 

Since most of us are expecting Tennant to regenerate into Gatwa in the final anniversary installment, one has to assume that whatever Season 14's first episode looks like, it'll be something of a soft reboot, giving the new series and new cast a chance for something like a fresh start. 

Doctor Who's 60th-anniversary specials are expected to air in November 2023. Season 14 will premiere in 2024.