Series 1 of Class ran between 22 October 2016 and 3 December 2016. It starred Katherine Kelly as Andrea Quill, Greg Austin as Charlie Smith, Sophie Hopkins as April MacLean, Fady Elsayed as Ram Singh, Vivian Oparah as Tanya Adeola and Jordan Renzo as Matteusz Andrzejewski. Peter Capaldi guest starred as the Twelfth Doctor in the first episode. The series opened with For Tonight We Might Die and concluded with The Lost.
Overview[]
It consisted of seven stories and eight episodes. Class was created by Patrick Ness, who previously wrote the tie-in short story, Tip of the Tongue, for the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who. Ness revealed there would be "no Clara" and that Class would "definitely air in America".[1] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ness said he has been asked to bring various parts of Doctor Who back since the series was announced, but he wants to create something new. He also confirmed the Weeping Angels would not feature in the series.[2] However, a Weeping Angel made an appearance on the last episode of the series.
The series was streamed on BBC Three in 2016 and later aired on BBC One in 2017. This was the fifth Doctor Who television spinoff after K9 and Company, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and K9 and the first spinoff to premiere online rather than on a traditional television channel.
The first episode was shown at the Class World Premiere in Shoreditch in London on 20 October 2016.[3]
Class was first uploaded to BBC Three's streaming service on 22 October 2016, with its first two episodes, exactly 10 years after the airdate of Torchwood's first two episodes, Everything Changes and Day One. A BBC One airing followed in the United Kingdom in January 2017.
Cast[]
- Charlie Smith - Greg Austin
- April MacLean - Sophie Hopkins
- Ram Singh - Fady Elsayed
- Tanya Adeola - Vivian Oparah
- Miss Quill - Katherine Kelly
- Matteusz Andrzejewski - Jordan Renzo
- The Twelfth Doctor - Peter Capaldi
- Varun Singh - Aaron Neil
Recurring[]
- Corakinus - Paul Marc Davies
- Jackie MacLean - Shannon Murray
- Vivian Adeola - Natasha Gordon
- Mr Armitage - Nigel Betts
- Dorothea Ames - Pooky Quesnel
- Coach Dawson - Ben Peel
- Miss Shah - Pooja Shah
Guest[]
- Rachel Chapman - Anna Shaffer
- Kevin Williams - Alex Leak
- The Inspector - Jami Reid-Quarrell
- Jasper Adeola - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Rannus/Kharrus - Kelly Gough
- Voice of Rannus - Neil McCaul
- Huw MacLean - Con O'Neill
- Voice of the Prisoner - Ferdy Roberts
- Ballon - Chiké Okonkwo
- Quill Goddess - Spencer Wilding
- Chair of the Governors - Cyril Nri
Production[]
The series began filming on 4 April 2016 and wrapped on 2 September 2016. The three first episodes in the series were directed by Ed Bazalgette, who directed the Doctor Who episodes The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived. Philippa Langdale and Wayne Che Yip directed two episodes each, whilst Julian Holmes directed the finale.
Blair Mowat composed the score for the series.
The working title of the first episode of the series was The Prom.[4]
Television stories[]
# | Title | Writer | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | For Tonight We Might Die | Patrick Ness | Ed Bazalgette | First appearances of Charlie, April, Ram, Tanya, Matteusz Miss Quill, the Shadow Kin and Corakinus. Guest appearance by the Twelfth Doctor. |
2 | The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo | Death of Mr Armitage. | ||
3 | Nightvisiting | Matteusz moves in with Charlie. | ||
4 | Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart | Philippa Langdale | Part one. First appearance of Huw MacLean. April develops Shadow Kin powers. | |
5 | Brave-ish Heart | Part two. Corakinus severs the anchor, making April lose her powers. | ||
6 | Detained | Wayne Che Yip | ||
7 | The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did | Miss Quill gets her arn removed. | ||
8 | The Lost | Julian Holmes | Introduction of Room M17 and the Chair of the Governors. Charlie uses the Cabinet of Souls to kill off all the Shadow Kin, destroying the Underneath. April's consciousness is transferred to Corakinus' body. |
Future of the show[]
On 7 September 2017, Radio Times spoke to BBC3 controller Damian Kavanagh about a future return of Class, in which Kavanagh said: "No, no. There was nothing wrong with it, I thought Patrick [Ness] did a great job, he explored an amazing world. In honesty it didn’t really land for us on BBC3; some shows don’t and I have to make decisions about what we’re going to do from a drama point of view, and what we did after Class was Clique, which worked really well for us."[5]
Digital distribution[]
Simultaneously with more traditional channels of distribution, series 1 of Class was made available for purchase on several online streaming platforms, in some countries outside the initial broadcast range. Generally, the episodes were made available online on the same day they were premiered on BBC Three. Series 1 was available on:
- iTunes in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the UK
- Amazon Video in Austria, Germany and the UK
- Google Play in the UK
The release of Series 1 in US digital stores was postponed until BBC America broadcast the show in 2017. Class was also later made available for streaming via Netflix from June 2018 until 2nd June 2020.
Aliens and enemies[]
- Shadow Kin
- Coach Dawson
- The Inspector
- Leaf Dragons
- Lankin
- Killer petals
- The Prisoner
- Arn
- Lorr
- Quill
- Weeping Angels
Stories set during this series[]
Novels[]
Audio stories[]
- Gifted
- Life Experience
- Tell Me You Love Me
- Everybody Loves Reagan
- Now You Know...
- In Remembrance
- The Soers' Ditch
- Catfish
- Sweet Nothings
- Mock
- The Creeper
- Queen of Rhodia
Footnotes[]
- ↑ Patrick Ness (1 October 2015). Patrick Ness' Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved on 5 October 2015.
- ↑ Megan Lewis (8 October 2015). Doctor Who spin-off Class boss Patrick Ness aims to 'shock you with something new'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.
- ↑ 6 Things You Need to Know About Class. BBC. Retrieved on 22 October 2016.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/bbc_class_fans/status/726092526311104512
- ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-09-07/doctor-who-spin-off-class-cancelled/