Doctor Who kicked off with a bang, with Jodie Whittaker’s turn as the time lord debuting with an average of 8.2 million viewers and a peak of 9 million viewers.

The thirteenth doctor started the new season surpassing BBC’s best new drama launch for a decade by the BBC drama Bodyguard starring Richard Madden earlier this year with an overnight audience of 6.8 million.

Previously Peter Capaldi’s series opener won 6.8 million viewers. Prior to that, Matt Smith’s first episode garnered 7.7 million, while David Tennant’s 8 million.

The world is set to expand with Chris Noth (Sex and the City, The Good Wife), Mark Addy (Game of Thrones, A Knight’s Tale), and Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) all set to join as new guest stars as well as Shaun Dooley, Julie Hesmondhalgh,Shobna Gulati, Josh Bowman, British comedian Lee Mack and acting legend Alan Cumming, among others.

If you have yet to see the Doctor, check out the latest trailer for the season below:

Source: Variety