Was riding the high off a very good new episode of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars this morning when the news dropped that Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall would be leaving Doctor Who at the end of 2022 after a series of specials.

Suffice to say I am very much in my feelings right now, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that I wasn't expecting this announcement to randomly drop the way it did. There was a panel at San Diego Comic Con this past Sunday, which felt like the more appropriate time to announce something like this, so I was taken off guard when it just dropped on Twitter four days later out of nowhere. That said, I am (mostly) not surprised by the substance of this news. Jodie's departure has been rumored for a while, and while I wasn't inclined to believe the initial rumors that she was bowing out after series 13, the latter rumors that she would leave after series 13 and a few specials felt much more plausible. The part I wasn't expecting was Chibnall leaving to, since I think myself and everyone else expected him to still be at the helm for the 60th Anniversary in 2023. (And I think, to some degree, we all thought the BBC would want more established players involved in crafting that).

I know the Thirteenth Doctor's era has decidedly not been everyone's cup of tea, and I myself have had very mixed feelings about it, but I'm also sad that it's ending. As many lows as its delivered it's also had many highs, and I think Jodie Whittaker in particular has done a great job in bringing her Doctor to life when the quality of the character writing wasn't exactly helping her. I also think Mandip Gill has been set up to have a really strong showing in this coming series (assuming they don't screw her over like in the last two uwu) and I find John Bishop a very charming presence, and I'm interested to see what he brings to the table.

As far as my hopes for the rest of this era, I just really hope they make good use of the time they have left. It's gonna be a six episode "event series" this autumn, followed by three specials in 2022, so I'm hoping they use the former to address the bulk of the Timeless Child stuff they set up in series 12. I don't want another situation where it's all crammed in at the very end like with the Eleventh Doctor. I also hope we'll see more of Jo Martin and Sacha Dhawan, and I want this era to end in a way where I can go back and rewatch it and it all feels cohesive and like it headed somewhere worthwhile.

I'm also really curious who will be the next showrunner, and who they'll cast as the Fourteenth Doctor. I wanna know if we'll get back to yearly seasons, and maybe get an increased episode count again. I wonder if the new team will have the same aversion to Christmas specials as the current one. Right now, the future of the show is wide open (and the BBC has confirmed that the show very much has a future), and I can't wait to see where it goes.