Doctor Who Revealing The New Doctor Now Would Be Unfair To Jodie Whittaker
If Doctor Who was to reveal the new Doctor now, it would be unfair to current incumbent Jodie Whittaker. Whittaker's final episode as the Doctor will premiere in fall 2022, with an announcement regarding the new Doctor expected to appear in the interim months. Yet Doctor Who should wait to reveal the new Doctor until Whittaker’s final episode airs, letting the infamous regeneration sequence speak for itself and reveal the newest iteration of the Doctor right there and then.
English-born actress Jodie Whittaker has played the Doctor for three seasons now, including several holiday specials. In a status-quo-defying move, Whittaker became the first-ever female Doctor and made the role wholly her own despite initial criticism surrounding her performance. After Whittaker's final episode, long-time showrunner Chris Chibnall will be the production to make way for Doctor Who alum Russel T. Davies - signaling wholesale change within the Doctor Who camp.
As a result, Doctor Who is getting a total production shake-up, which means there is all the more reason to delay the announcement of the new Doctor until Whittaker’s last episode airs. The Doctor’s regeneration is a big moment in popular culture, and speculation regarding who will be stepping into Jodie Whittaker’s shoes is already rife. Yet while it is fun to theorize and analyze the rumors, the extra attention given to Whittaker’s replacement will overshadow the opportunity to celebrate her historic stint as the Doctor. In this way, announcing the new Doctor now would supersede a retrospective of Jodie Whittaker’s accomplishments and would quash the building anticipation for the Thirteenth Doctor’s final episode in favor of the new Doctor actor.
While it would be an admittedly radical move not to announce the new Doctor before Whittaker’s final episode airs, it would also be a worthwhile one. When Jodie Whittaker’s casting was officially announced in 2017, a few months before Peter Capaldi’s final turn in Doctor Who, speculation and criticism ran rampant before she’d even had the chance to make her mark on the show. This was an unfortunate yet predictable turn of events and would likely happen again this time around, eclipsing both Whittaker’s final performance as the Doctor and marring the new Doctor’s casting with controversy. In this way, waiting to announce the new Doctor until they can perform in the show's context will give the new actor the chance to showcase their talents and give Whittaker the send-off she deserves on Doctor Who.
Additionally, waiting to reveal the new Doctor will only help create more anticipation for Whittaker’s final episode. Not knowing who the new Doctor is before the final episode premieres will likely entice more viewers to watch as the episode airs. The collective response to the Thirteenth Doctor’s send-off and Whittaker’s replacement would provide more buzz around the show than a one-off announcement in the middle of summer ever could.
It cannot be overstated that Jodie Whittaker's fresh take on the Doctor has changed the show's direction for seasons to come. Her turn as the Thirteenth Doctor, therefore, deserves to be celebrated, and her final episode should be a crowning moment to say farewell to her interpretation of the Doctor. As a result, Doctor Who should make the bold choice, both for the benefit of its current Doctor and for whoever steps into the Tardis next, to withhold its casting reveal until Whittaker's final episode itself.