‘Doctor Who’ YA Spinoff ‘Class’ Ordered For 2016

Now that Doctor Who companion Jenna Coleman has confirmed her exit after the current ninth season, talk naturally turns to the future of the series, and franchise at large. That talk now turns to spinoff, as The BBC has confirmed a new young adult Doctor Who series titled Class to arrive in 2016.

Airing on BBC Three in eight 45-minute installments and helmed by YA author Patrick Ness, Doctor Who spinoff Class will shoot in Wales in 2016, debuting “on air next year.” So reads the official description, which acknowledges some of its YA roots:

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.

Says Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat:

No one has documented the dark and exhilarating world of the teenager like Patrick Ness, and now we’re bringing his brilliant story-telling into Doctor Who. This is growing up in modern Britain - but with monsters!

Adds 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.

It’s an interesting concept to consider, given the success of past Doctor Who spinoffs like Torchwood or The Sarah Jane Adventures, but will another branch of the universe prove as successful? Does the young adult angle work well for Doctor Who?

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