'Doctor Who' executive producer Matt Strevens admits 'Flux' was a "gamble".
Doctor Who: Flux saw Jodie Whittaker's Doctor in a series-long story
The 13th season of the BBC's sci-fi show focused on a longer narrative arc across all six episodes rather than more standalone weekly stories, which he has described as "a necessity".
He told Doctor Who Magazine: "'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."
Matt also addressed the way the way Jodie Whittaker's first two season as The Doctor were shaped, as the team wanted to "set out" their vision right away.
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."
He noted that this resulted in the show taking on a "more filmic quality" as they made a lot of decisions with that goal in mind.
He added: "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."
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