The specials star Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor as well as Mandip Gill and John Bishop as her time-travelling companions, Yasmin Khan and Dan Lewis.

The three specials were seen as an improvement on the previous series but received some criticism to the resolution of its overall story arc and saw a decline in viewing figures.

[10] Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred also headlined the final special, returning to the programme as former companions Tegan Jovanka and Ace.

[13] On their return, Chibnall said he believed Fielding and Aldred's original eras to be representative of specific times in Doctor Who's history.

[17] Jonny Dixon returned from "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" (Whittaker's first episode) reprising his role as Karl Wright.

[19] In "Legend of the Sea Devils", Crystal Yu was cast to play Madame Ching while Arthur Lee and Marlowe Chan-Reeves guest starred as Ji-Hun and Ying Ki.

[20] David K. S. Tse appeared as Ying Wai while Craig Els played Marsissus, the chief Sea Devil.

[23][24] Both Jemma Redgrave (Kate Lethbridge-Stewart) and Jacob Anderson (Vinder) returned from series 13, the former having reprised her role after six years.

[27] The episode saw David Bradley, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and Jo Martin make cameo roles as previous incarnations of the Doctor.

[34] Actors of other former companions, Ian Chesterton, Jo Jones and Mel Bush, portrayed by William Russell, Katy Manning and Bonnie Langford, appear together in a brief cameo near the end of the episode.

[37] On 29 July 2021, the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) announced that Chris Chibnall, who serves as executive producer and showrunner of Doctor Who, would depart the series alongside Whittaker after a run of specials in 2022.

[50] One of Road's major contributions to this special was the addition of the historical figure Zheng Yi Sao, also known as Madam Ching.

[62] The specials also furthered other threads, such as that around "the timeless child", which began in previous series', and the impact of the Doctor's impending regeneration.

[67] Production on all episodes was affected by the impact of COVID-19 on television leading to virtual meetings, budgetary concerns, and travel constraints.

[72] Filming for "Legend of the Sea Devils" followed throughout June and July with a mix of sound stage and location shooting.

[88][89] The final moments of "The Power of the Doctor" were filmed on 13 May 2022, also on a green screen,[90] with Rachel Talalay directing, as Stone was unavailable.

[47] An eight-minute trailer for this episode was released on 28 December 2021, which also featured a time loop format by having the same content repeat itself for the first seven minutes and nine seconds.

[49] Ahead of the second special, Scottish musician Nathan Evans released a Doctor Who-themed adaptation of the sea ballad "Wellerman".

[96] A teaser trailer for the centenary episode, without yet revealing the title or airdate, was likewise released after the second special aired.

[97] The first of the three specials was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 1 January 2022 in the series' traditional New Year's Day time slot.

[106] On 18 November 2022, composer Segun Akinola announced that three individual soundtracks featuring selected pieces of score from each special would be digitally released on 2, 9, and 16 December 2022, respectively.

[116][117] "Eve of the Daleks" experienced a 300,000 decline in viewership compared to that of the thirteenth series finale broadcast a month earlier.

[122] The episodes have an averaged appreciation index of 78, the highest score being "The Power of the Doctor" with 82 and the lowest being "Legend of the Sea Devils".

[1] In the United States, Doctor Who averaged 340,667 viewers in its first broadcast on BBC America,[123][124][125] also down overall from Flux and Whittaker's debut series.

[140] CBR's Maddie Davis stated that "Chibnall undoubtedly dropped the ball there" and felt it represented a wider problem in the media with a lack of LGBTQ+ television writers.