‘Doctor Who’ YA Spinoff ‘Class’ Set for 2016 BBC America Debut

Did you remember amid the chaos of Clara, Capaldi and showrunner exits that Doctor Who announced a new spinoff with a young adult focus? Neither did we! Now that we’ve settled that, BBC America reveals that American audiences can expect the premiere at some point in 2016.

Where BBC-3 will air the eight-episode Doctor Who spinoff overseas, BBC America confirmed at the recent TCA press tour panel that U.S. audiences will be able to watch the premiere later this year. Shooting in Wales and helmed by YA author Patrick Ness, so reads the official description for Doctor Who spinoff Class:

Class is a YA series set in contemporary London. Incredible dangers are breaking through the walls of time and space, and with darkness coming, London is unprotected. With all the action, heart and adrenalin of the best YA fiction (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Hunger Games), this is Coal Hill School and Doctor Who like you’ve never seen them before.

Said Ness himself:

I’m astounded and thrilled to be entering the Doctor Who universe, which is as vast as time and space itself. There’s so much room there for all kinds of amazing stories, and to work with Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin to find a place to tell one of my own has been an absolute joy. I can’t wait for people to meet the heroes of Class, to meet the all-new villains and aliens, to remember that the horrors of the darkest corners of existence are just about on par with having to pass your A-Levels.

Doctor Who has plenty to sort out on its own, but when can we expect the new series, or a bit of crossover from the main man? Will the main man even be Peter Capaldi by that point?

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