Doctor Who: Flux was a big departure for Doctor Who, with one overarching story being told across six episodes.
Executive producer Matt Strevens opened up to Doctor Who Magazine about how the unusual structure was a “gamble”, but doing something different had always been part of the plan.
He said: “Flux was a bit of a gamble, really. There was a bit of a necessity in the way we had to structure it, because of COVID, and we didn’t really know how the audience would take it.
“But it seems to have been very well received. It seems the audience really loved going back to what was, in a way, a more traditional, classic form of Doctor Who storytelling.”
Despite COVID putting added pressure on the series, Strevens revealed the plan had always been “to do something a bit different in the third season”.
He explained: “I think series 12 [2020] was a progression from series 11 [2018] in terms of storytelling. We wanted to set out our stall in series 11 and show what our era was about. We didn’t want to rely on some of the old tropes and monsters – we wanted to do our own thing, launch our own Doctor.
“When we came back we wanted the show to be more exterior, we wanted to go to more locations – that’s why we went to South Africa, to get that bigger production bang and, of course, the sun. We wanted a more filmic quality, which is why we brought in the anamorphic lenses. All of that was about making it a more cinematic experience.”
Strevens also revealed that showrunner Chris Chibnall wanted to “delve more into the story of the Doctor and have an element of serialisation” for the second instalment, which is why it featured the Spyfall/Timeless Child storyline with the Master.
You can read the full interview and more in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine.
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