Doctor Who Gets a New Night for Its New Timelord

Update 9/26/2018: BBC America has announced that the season will premiere at 1:45/12:45c on Sunday, Oct. 7, with a special encore that night in its regular time slot of 8/7c.

After what has felt like an endless wait, we finally know when Doctor Who will return. Its historic eleventh season -- which stars Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor -- will premiere Sunday, Oct. 7 worldwide. And yes, you heard that right: Sunday.

After airing on Saturdays for longer than I've even been alive, Doctor Who is moving on up to the more prestigious (and more convenient, tbh) Sundays. Some Whovian traditionalists might scoff at the idea of the long-running BBC series forgoing its traditional Saturday night timeslot (other than a brief mid-week run in the '80s, Doctor Who has aired on Saturdays since the series premiere in 1963) but many traditionalists also railed against a female Doctor, so let's all keep some perspective here.

With new showrunner Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch) at the helm, the upcoming season is poised to be the beginning of a truly new era. Between Chibnall's fresh vision for the beloved sci-fi staple; the suite of brand new writers, including Doctor Who's first writers of color; Whittaker taking over Timelord duties and this Sunday timeslot, the next season of Doctor Who will hopefully mark the beginning of a revitalized age of Doctor Who history that takes the show into the future while still paying homage to the best parts of its past.

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And if you're sitting there wondering when on Sundays Doctor Who will air, we didn't forget to include that info; they just haven't announced it yet! All we know is that the U.S. premiere will air in the afternoon simultaneously with its U.K. debut with a special encore airing later that day in Doctor Who's regular Sunday evening slot.

But while we wait to find out the exact details of when Doctor Who returns, we can at least start an official countdown. As of publishing, it's 31 days until Doctor Who returns for its Season 11 premiere, aptly titled "The Woman Who Fell to Earth." And if you ask us, that day can't come soon enough.

Doctor Who returns Sunday, Oct. 7 on BBC America.