Class (TV series)

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Class
Publisher:	BBC Three
Type:	TV series
Release date:	22 October 2016

Class is an eight-episode spin-off series of Doctor Who, co-produced by BBC Wales and BBC America for digital television station BBC Three and BBC America. This new programme, and its first series, was announced on 1 October 2015. Unlike the parent show and more in line with Torchwood before it (which also debuted on BBC3), Class is aimed specifically at a young adult audience. Class is the first BBC-produced Doctor Who spin-off series since The Sarah Jane Adventures ended in 2011.

Created by Patrick Ness, who, by his own account, is writing all 8 episodes of the first series, this new programme takes place in Coal Hill School, which first appeared in Doctor Who's very first episode as the school Susan attended in 1963. The school was also a recurring location during series 8 and series 9, as the school where Clara Oswald and Danny Pink both worked as teachers and the Twelfth Doctor briefly worked as a caretaker whilst under "deep cover".

Class airs online on BBC Three first and directly on BBC One afterwards. In Canada, the spin-off airs on the Space channel. Australia airs it on ABC2. Ness later added: "Btw, plan is, Class airs on BBC3 online, then on BBC1, at which point the new episode of Class hits BBC3," and finished by saying "It's cool."

Class is in many aspects similar to its sister spin-off series Torchwood as well as series 5 of its mother series Doctor Who, in which "the boundaries of space-time have been stretched to breaking point, allowing all manner of creatures through." However, Ness pointed out that "We're not telling stories of the 'chosen ones'." and that "It's happenstance that puts these people [at the centre of things]. What if your timing is just weird and things happen to you? How do you deal with it? I'm interested in real consequences. The Doctor is always exciting, but he never [stays]. He goes off on the next adventure. What happens to real people?"

Class began airing on 22 October 2016, exactly 10 years after the airdate of Torchwood's first episode Everything Changes.

On October 2016, at the New York Comic Con, Patrick Ness told that the show wouldn't feature cameos from Doctor Who on a regular basis, saying: "I think cameo appearances are like penises. If you put it in the scene it’s all people are going to look at. So you have to have it there for a really, really good reason... I don't want anything to take away from the story."

Synopsis

What if your planet was massacred and you and your worst enemy were the sole survivors? What if a legendary figure out of space and time found you a place to hide? But what if the things that want to kill you have tracked you down? And worst of all, what if you haven't studied for your A-levels...? Because Coal Hill School has been a part of Doctor Who since the beginning. But that's come at a price... Like all sixth formers, our heroes navigate a life of friends, parents, school, sex, sorrow – and possibly the end of existence. Something waits for us there, just on the other side of sight, for its chance to kill everything, to bring us all into Shadow...

Cast

Main cast

• Charlie Smith - Greg Austin
• April MacLean - Sophie Hopkins
• Ram Singh - Fady Elsayed
• Tanya Adeola - Vivian Oparah
• Miss Quill - Katherine Kelly

Secondary cast

• Matteusz Andrzejewski - Jordan Renzo
• Corakinus - Paul Marc Davies
• The Twelfth Doctor - Peter Capaldi
• Vivian Adeola - Natasha Gordon
• Varun Singh - Arron Neil
• Jackie MacLean - Shannon Murray

Ness confirmed via Twitter that Clara Oswald will not appear.

On 13 June, a bit earlier than scheduled, Ness revealed the lead would be an gay character who has a boyfriend, whom he kisses, sleeps with and loves. Ness told that given the recent Orlando shootings, riots caused by homophobia, over the weekend, it seemed less important to keep that a secret.

Ness also said that Weeping Angels and other old Doctor Who favourites would not appear in the show.

Michelle Gomez, who portrays Missy, the latest and female incarnation of the villain known as the Master, said she would be happy to make an appearance on the show. Despite that, she didn't know as she wasn't even sure if she was to appear in the tenth series of the parent series.

Television stories

Series 1 - 2016-2017

Main article: Series 1 (Class)

Other details

On Twitter, Ness jokingly confirmed that Class would feature the return of Quatermass, an all-nude episode, OMD, Toyah, a dream episode, and otters.

In an interview for Doctor Who Magazine #502, Steven Moffat told: "My boys are both teenagers, of course, so I'm quite excited to see what they'll make of Class, which has a lot of great stuff for that age group. Well, for every age group, but thanks to Patrick Ness, it captures that teenage world with great poignancy and wit."

Patrick Ness revealed to Radio Times, on 29 July 2016, that the idea for Class started up with the rejection of a Doctor Who episode; "At first they asked me to write an episode of Doctor Who, and I said it's a brilliant show, but I've just spent so much time doing work for other people, and I really want to do something of my own. And they said, well we have this idea for setting a spin-off in a school. And it was like, 'ding'! It's been fantastic, I've got six weeks of filming to go. The cast are great, and it's been a fantastic experience. I can't wait for you to see it. Fingers crossed! It's going well."

It is rumoured that the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas special will be a Class crossover.

Novels

Three books set during series 1 were released on 27 October 2016:

• Joyride by Guy Adams
• The Stone House by A.K. Benedict
• What She Does Next Will Astound You by James Goss