Doctor Who Series 10 Rumored To Be Shorter

Update: Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has shot down this rumor, confirming that Series 10 will be a full season.

Rumor has it that Doctor Who may only be a part-time endeavor for star Peter Capaldi in 2016.

The Mirror is reporting that the 2016’s Series 10 of the British sci-fi adventure series will only feature half the usual number of episodes. This will allow Capaldi to pursue other work during the series’ time off.

The BBC supposedly wanted to increase the number of episodes for Series 10, looking to produce more than the usual 12. Capaldi is said to have dismissed the idea on behalf of himself, and the show’s exhausted crew.

“If you did the series all year there’d be casualties – and one would be its quality,” he reportedly said. “There’s a point where you can’t drive people any harder.”

Capaldi won’t be spending his time away from the TARDIS resting. He’ll be directing a film inspired by his years as part of the punk band The Dreamboys (which also counted comedian Craig Ferguson among its members), as well as two episodes of the HBO series Veep.

It’s important to note that none of this has been confirmed by the BBC. There were previously rumors that the series would take the entire year off in 2016, and that Capaldi was ready to leave the show entirely (though showrunner Steven Moffat quelled that rumor), but nothing official as of yet.

A shortened Doctor Who Series could allow for the time Moffat needs to produce the next season of Sherlock, which begins filming in April.

Doctor Who airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.