Following in the footsteps of Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, there’s a new Doctor Who spinoff in the works—and it started filming on Monday morning.
Doctor Who fans first learned about Class last year. It’s a teen-oriented spinoff set at Coal Hill School, a fictional London high school with a role in Doctor Who since the show’s first episode in 1963. Recent fans will recognize it as the school where Clara taught English, leading us to wonder if any of her students—Courtney Woods, maybe?—will show up in Class.
On Monday, in a new 360-degree video from the still-under-construction Class set, showrunner Patrick Ness, author of the critically acclaimed Chaos Walking trilogy, introduced the show’s cast of young actors.
The main cast consists of Katherine Kelly, who plays a teacher, alongside up-and-coming actors Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins, and Vivian Oparah, who play students in their late teens. The official BBC synopsis has a typically apocalyptic Doctor Who tone:
“These four Coal Hill School students have hidden secrets and desires. They are facing their own worst fears, navigating a life of friends, parents, school work, sex, sorrow – and possibly the end of existence.”
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat emphasized the show’s “dark and sexy” tone, saying, “I’ve always wondered if there could be a British Buffy — it’s taken the brilliant Patrick Ness to figure out how to make it happen.”
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/716944270154940417
Class begins airing later this year on BBC3 and BBC America. If you’re into Doctor Who, now is a good time to get in before the rush: there still isn’t an “official” name for Class fandom, but these things tend to be decided pretty early on.
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/716955847528726528
