Pasadena, California – January 8, 2016 – BBC AMERICA made a series of announcements at today’s TCA including:
- Class, a companion for hit series Doctor Who, from American young adult writer Patrick Ness, will be co-produced by BBC AMERICA.
“With each of these shows we aim to cut through the noise and provide the innovation and originality our fans have come to love and celebrate,” said Sarah Barnett, President BBC AMERICA. “We’re excited about a fresh twist on the Doctor Who universe, an unconventional take on the crime drama that keeps you guessing at every turn, and an audience with the fabulous Adele.”
The eight-part series, Class, will be co-produced by BBC AMERICA marking the TV screenwriting debut of acclaimed author Patrick Ness, best known for his award-winning book A Monster Calls. Set in a school in contemporary London, it is executive produced by Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin, the team behind Doctor Who.
“I’m astounded and thrilled to be entering the Doctor Who universe, which is as vast as time and space itself,” said Ness. “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 exams,” he joked.
Produced by BBC Cymru Wales and filmed in Cardiff, Class will premiere in 2016.
Created in 1998, BBC AMERICA is a hub of innovative, culturally contagious programming like the ground-breaking un-scripted series Top Gear, the top-rated science-fiction phenomenon Doctor Who, and the fan-favorite Orphan Black. The influential channel has been the launch pad for talent including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, and Graham Norton — all adopted as American pop culture icons. A joint venture between BBC Worldwide (the commercial arm of the BBC) and AMC Networks, BBCA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including four Emmy® Awards, five Golden Globes® and 12 Peabody Awards. The irrepressible network has garnered one of cable’s most curious, educated and affluent audiences, with many properties boasting super-fan levels of engagement. Available on cable and satellite TV in nearly 80 million homes, BBC America broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, is available On Demand across all major digital platforms and offers full episodes online at bbcamerica.com. Follow us on twitter.com/bbcamerica.
From April:
Cast Announced For BBC AMERICA’s Doctor Who Spin-Off – Class
“Time has looked at your faces now. And time never forgets…”
What
if your
planet
was
massacred
and you
were the
sole
survivor?
What if
a
legendary
figure
out of
space
and time
found
you a
place to
hide?
But what
if the
things
that
want to
kill you
have
tracked
you
down?
And
worst of
all,
what if
you
haven’t
studied
for your
exams…?
New York, NY – April 4, 2016 – Announced today, the stars of BBC AMERICA’s Doctor Who spin-off series Class – exciting young new talents Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah. They will be joined by Katherine Kelly, as she takes the role of a teacher and powerful new presence at Coal Hill School.
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.
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 space and time 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.
Fear is coming, tragedy is coming, war is coming. Prepare yourselves, Class is coming.
Award-winning YA writer and Class creator Patrick Ness, says: “We searched far and wide for this amazing cast, fantastic actors who understand what we’re aiming for with this show. And how lucky we are to get Katherine Kelly! She’s been stunning in Happy Valley, The Night Manager and Mr Selfridge, just wait until you see her here.”
Steven Moffat, Class and Doctor Who executive producer, says: “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.”
Class is a YA series set in contemporary London. It is scary, funny, and as painful and sharp as youth. It will also shine a light on a whole new corner of the Whoniverse.
From Writer Patrick Ness, Director Ed Bazalgette (Poldark, Doctor Who), Producer Derek Ritchie, and Executive Producers Patrick Ness, Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin, the BBC Cymru Wales production, co-produced with BBC AMERICA and BBC Worldwide, starts filming today. The series will air on BBC Three in the UK.
Further casting will be announced in due course.
