‘Doctor Who’ Spinoff ‘Class’ Officially Canceled, Writer Confirms
As Doctor Who prepares to enter a new era, one of the franchise’s later offerings is officially dismissed. Class spinoff writer Patrick Ness and BBC bosses confirm the series will not return for Season 2, as “it just didn’t really land for us.”
According to Digital Spy, BBC Three controller Damian Kavanagh confirmed as much at a Broadcasting Press Guild event, noting that writer Patrick Ness nonetheless “did a great job” with the effort. Ness himself had already confirmed he wouldn’t participate in any potential Season 2, though Kavanagh essentially sealed its fate:
No, [we're not bringing it back]. There was nothing wrong with it – I thought Patrick did a great job, he explored an amazing world. In honesty, it just didn’t really land for us on BBC Three. Things sometimes don’t, and I’ve got to make decisions about what we’re going to do from a drama point of view. There’s always times when you do something and you have to decide that it’s not going to come back. Class is just one of those things.
Ness also responded to the news over Twitter:
In addition to an early appearance from departing Who star Peter Capaldi, Class featured among the cast Jordan Renzo, Pooky Quesnel and Nigel Betts, along with Ben Peel, Anna Shaffer, Paul Marc Davies and Shannon Murray.
We’ll see when next Doctor Who attempts another spinoff, but was Class dismissed too soon?