‘Doctor Who’ season 11: New showrunner casting for best person, not specific type

Kudos to Chris Chibnall, who is the new showrunner for “Doctor Who” starting with this coming season — he’s not looking at casting the show through the lens of any specific person or type of person viewers would like to see.

Instead, the current “Broadchurch” executive producer is thinking more along the lines of just finding the right person, really regardless of who it is. This is something that Chibnall explained in a new premium piece over on the Telegraph, saying that there would be a “traditional” search for the new role, one that will include a number of familiar things such as discussions and potentially auditions / screen tests.

What this also means at the same time is that the vast majority of the rumors out there about Tilda Swinton or anyone else are probably exaggerated for the sake of generating attention. (For the record, the people saying that she is the frontrunner are just doing so on the basis of buzz and odds-makers.) We’re not actually all that confident that anyone is being considered that strongly at the moment. For example, just remember for a moment or two that the eleventh season is not going to be premiering until 2018 — there is probably not all that big of a hurry at the moment. Chibnall still has another show that is yet to air, and we find it hard that he can focus completely on the future of his new series until the old one signs off once and for all.

Would it be great to have Swinton on the show? Sure, and the same goes for many of the big-name stars who could be appearing on the series. The reality is that it is equally likely that someone relatively unknown could be hired. For example, how many people were really familiar with Matt Smith before his season? He turned out to be one of the best Doctors that the series has ever had!

What do you think about Chibnall’s thinking? Share in the comments, and head over here to get some more news when it comes to the show. (Photo: BBC.)