Chibnall: Series 12 is More Ambitious, Will “Go up a level”

Showunner Chris Chibnall has said that Series 12 is more ambitious than his first series.

He told press at a set visit: “We want to do big action-packed, emotional, scary, funny stories. And I think we want to go up a level from last year.”

Chibnall continues: “Last year was a recruitment year. For the show, for the Doctor, for getting everybody in … It’s always a stepping-on point with a new Doctor, and also bringing that existing audience as well.

“I think we did alright in the recruiting year, and this year we’re saying to those people and any other people, ‘Okay, here’s the amazing world of Doctor Who, and here’s lots of treats, and here’s lots of new stuff, and here’s some old stuff. Let’s see what you make of this.’ But also I think for ourselves, the ambition is… go up a level, and I think we’ve done that.”

“Scale, storytelling, everything. I would say we are aiming to keep moving forward and up. There are bigger moments this year.”

Space. For all. Coming soon. pic.twitter.com/YEWQirbSYU

— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) November 21, 2019

As for the monsters: “I think we’ve got some amazing monsters. It’s probably a bit scarier.”

“We’ve definitely got some bigger action set pieces,” he continues, “we’ve got some old monsters coming back. It’s a lovely little balance with some amazing new monsters, quite scary new monsters I think. And there’s a little thread trickling through. So you know, it’s not the same. We’re developing the story of the 13th Doctor and this gang.”

And Chibnall hints at some intriguing development for the 13th Doctor: “We’re delving deeper into the 13th Doctor this year. That’s all I’m saying. You’ll see things you didn’t see last year in terms of facets to the Doctor.”