‘Doctor Who’ Reportedly Getting Longer Episodes, New TARDIS in Season 11

Doctor Who fans are in store for big changes to the show in its eleventh season, and we’re not just talking about the new Doctor.

In addition to Jodie Whitaker being introduced as the first female to play The Doctor on Doctor Who, Chris Chibnall is taking over as series showrunner, and the very format of the show is being altered for the new era.

According to the Mirror, the interior of the TARDIS is getting a complete redesign. This isn’t too shocking since the TARDIS does tend to regenerate around the same time that The Doctor does. It also shouldn’t be too surprising that the Thirteenth Doctor will have her own freshly designed version of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver.

What’s more surprising is that the very format of the show will be changing. The runtime of individual episodes will be extended from 45 minutes to 60 minutes. However, the price of longer episodes is a shorter season, with the season shrinking from 12 episodes to 10 plus a Christmas Special.

These changes are only rumored at the moment, but there are a significant segment of Doctor Who fans who would be happy to see individual stories given more time to develop in exchange for losing a couple weaker episodes each season, though it will be interesting to see how BBC America handles this change in format.

Before these supposed changes take place, outgoing star Peter Capaldi will take his final lap as the Twelfth Doctor. Capaldi said his goodbyes to fans at the Doctor Who New York Comic Con panel over the weekend.

Capaldi returns for one last outing as the Twelfth Doctor on Christmas Day in the 2017 Doctor Who Christmas Special “Twice Upon a Time.” The Christmas Special guest stars David Bradley as the First Doctor and sees the two Doctors cross paths in the midst of the classic Doctor Who adventure “The Tenth Planet,” with both the First Doctor and the Twelfth Doctor facing their impending regenerations together.

Pearl Mackie will also give her final performance as companion Bill Potts in “Twice Upon a Time,” and Mark Gatiss will guest star as a character called “The Captain.”

The Doctor Who Christmas Special airs on Christmas Day on BBC America.