BBC Announces Doctor Who Spin-Off Class

The BBC is rolling out a brand new spin-off series set in the Doctor Who universe.

Class will be aimed at a young adult audience, set in a contemporary London public school beset with monsters and intergalactic mayhem — to be fended off by a group of young heroes. More specifically it’s Coal Hill School, featured heavily last season on Doctor Who, where Clara Oswald teaches.

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, Hunger Games), this is Coal Hill School and Doctor Who like you’ve never seen it before.

Eight episodes will comprise the first season, headlined by acclaimed young adult writer Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking). Steven Moffatt, Patrick Ness, and Brian Minchin will executive produce.

“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,” Moffat said. “This is growing up in modern Britain — but with monsters!”

“I’m astounded and thrilled to be entering the Doctor Who universe, which is as vast as time and space itself,” Ness said. “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.”

The series will begin filming in and around Wales next spring and air on BBC Three in the U.K., making its bow before the end of 2016. There is no news yet on whether BBC America or another network will air the series in the United States.

Doctor Who has had a number of spin-offs over the years, including the youth-aimed The Sarah Jane Adventures and the more adult adventure drama Torchwood.