The teen-oriented series, 'Class', will be set in contemporary times and is promised to feature new villains, monsters and heroes.
- Oct 2, 2015
AceShowbiz - "Doctor Who" is getting a young-adult spin-off. BBC Three has announced that it's developing "Class", a new TV series which is still in the vein of the long-running sci-fi series but aimed at teens.
The third spin-off from the popular franchise is set in contemporary London and will deal with "incredible dangers [that] are breaking through the walls of time and space" at and around Coal Hill School. It has drawn comparisons to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "The Hunger Games".
Patrick Ness, author of the "Chaos Walking" trilogy and writer of both "A Monster Calls" book and screenplay for the upcoming movie starring Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones and Sigourney Weaver, will write the YA spin-off. "Doctor Who" showrunner Steven Moffat will executive produce the new series.
Moffat praises Ness, "No one has documented the dark and exhilarating world of the teenager like Patrick Ness, and now we're bringing his brilliant storytelling into Doctor Who. This is growing up in modern Britain - but with monsters!"
Ness himself says, "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."
The upcoming series is promised to present "all-new villains and aliens" as well as new monsters and heroes. The first season consisting of eight 45-minute episodes will air on BBC Three in the U.K in 2016, and will likely air on BBC America in the U.S. The show will be filmed in and around Cardiff.
"Doctor Who" season 9 airs Saturdays at 9 P.M. on BBC America. This season will be the last for Jenna-Louise Coleman who has portrayed the Doctor's (Peter Capaldi) companion Clara Oswald since 2012.
