'Doctor Who' Season 10: An American Twist Planned? Chris Chibnall Teases Writing Shake Up [VIDEO]
Doctor Who is inline for a dose of American ingenuity.
The BBC series takes a very British approach to penning episodes - doling them out one by one to unconnected, individual writers. While this system has its benefits as it injects the story with fresh blood, future showrunner Chris Chibnall is hoping to switch the series over to the American version of the writers room for season 11.
Instead of employing a group of disparate scribes, the writers room brings a group of creative minds together in one place for the duration of the season. After breaking each episode storyline together, the writers work out the major plot points as a team before assigning the story to one person.
Despite being standard practice in the States, the writers room is a novel idea in Britain. Should Chibnall's idea come to fruition, fans can expect a much more cohesive story line. From character development to overarching themes, Doctor Who could benefit greatly from the system.
While the Writers' Guild of Great Britain for the idea, Chibnall's revamp may cost the BBC a little extra cash.
"Nobody's against it. Lots of writers would like to try it but you have to get round those practical difficulties. Our job as a Trade Union is not to disrupt things or hold things back if they think it is a good idea," Bernie Corbett, former general secretary of the union, told Radio Times. "[But writers rooms] are expensive and they tend to have big dollars in the US with long running shows. Doctor Who is in many ways a show that is perhaps moving towards that kind of scale as US shows so it seems a good fit."
The writers room model would also preclude the inclusion of several big names, many of whom juggle multiple projects.
Are you for or against the switch? Sound off in the comments below!
Doctor Who will return to the BBC on Dec. 25.
