The next generation of sidekicks for the Doctor are ready to start their ‘How To Be The Possible Companion of a Time Lord for Dummies’ lessons.
BBC and BBC America have released the premise for and cast of the upcoming Doctor Who spin-off Class, created by author Patrick Ness.
Set in the present at Coal Hill School, the series will focus on four students who not only have to tackle typical teen issues like: parents, academics, friends, sex, when to swipe left on Tinder, and clearing their browser history, but will face cosmic threats too.
Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins, and Vivian Oparah will play the four students with Katherine Kelly cast as a teacher. In the photo released alongside the statement, it looks like the foursome could be an indie band annoyed that they haven’t been invited to play at Leeds Fest.
Details of the series’ plot are scarce but the premise reads:
Coal Hill School has been a part of the Doctor Who universe since the very beginning, but that has come at a price. All the time travelling over the years has caused the very walls of time and space to become thin. There’s something pressing in on the other side, something waiting for its chance to kill everyone and everything, to bring us all into Shadow.
Not much to go on, but it looks like the Big Bad will be someone or something known as the Shadow. It’s worth noting that a skull-faced, black cloack clad, gold chain wearing villain of the same name was an agent of the Black Guardian. He fought the Fourth Doctor over the Key of Time.
Apart from evil, the Shoreditch-based students will probably find themselves: making street art, renovating lofts, surviving on organic street food, and running from flannel-loving bearded hipster cults.
The show is expected to be pretty good, current Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat said: “There’s nothing more exciting than meeting stars that nobody’s heard of yet. We had the read-through of the first few episodes last week, and there was a whole row of them. Coal Hill School has been part of ‘Doctor Who’ since the very first shoot in 1963, but this new show is anything but history. ‘Class’ is dark and sexy and right now. 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.”
It’d be pretty rubbish for everyone if it turns out to be as mind numbingly boring as the final series of Torchwood.
Class will premiere on BBC 3 online this autumn.
