A Doctor Who YA spin-off series is in the works at the BBC

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The modern series of Doctor Who has already enjoyed several spin-offs, including Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, but it's about to get another one. The BBC announced today that it will be launching a young adult spin-off to its Doctor Who franchise which will be called Class. Class will be set in contemporary London as "incredible dangers are breaking through the walls of time and space, and with darkness coming, London is unprotected."

The new series will be written by acclaimed YA author Patrick Ness, who sounds thrilled to be a part of the Doctor Who franchise:

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 show-runner Steven Moffat also chimed in:

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!

There's not much known about the spin-off at this point, other than the first series will consist of eight episodes and that much of the action will be set around Coal Hill School, which happens to be where current Doctor Who companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) calls her place of employment…when she's not running around with a Time Lord that is. Whether Clara, The Doctor, or any other memorable face may pop up in the series is not yet known, but production on Class will begin next spring and the series will air before on BBC Three by the end of 2016.