Class Dismissed! BBC Three cancels spinoff series

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BBC, Class

After one season, Class, the Doctor Who world spin off that was pretty much doomed to fail, has indeed not passed its first season. While it’s not at all surprising, let’s go through why it’s not too surprising at all.

For some reason, Class just seemed to pass by the main Doctor Who fandom. In fact, unless you were a follower of this show, you might not have even known much about it. (Admittedly, I never watched it.)

The synopsis of the show followed a group of Coal Hill students, where Clara Oswald worked and the Doctor’s granddaughter attended. It was also the workplace of Barbara and Ian, some of the first companions.

Looking back, it seemed doomed to fail with how it was put out in Britain. First, it was only an online show on BBC Three, then, when finally moved to BBC One, it played later than Doctor Who does. Therefore, the spinoff show couldn’t reach the audience it was meant for.

However, the worst decision amongst them all was how Class was brought to BBC America. The show came to the station a year after it originally premiered in Britain. And as any American who likes British show knows, there are many (not especially legal) ways to watch British television.

BBC

What does that mean?

It means that anyone who really wanted to watch it already had. And anyone who hadn’t probably wasn’t going to. It’s a hard fact to bear, but it’s true.

The alien adventure and angsty teen drama rolled into one just didn’t seem to pair well. With a cameo of the Twelfth Doctor in the pilot, it looked as though it might work. And there had been other spinoffs that did very well, so it made sense to set a spinoff in one of the most prevalent places for the Doctor Who audience.

But this spinoff was missing one huge piece to make it a success…a crossover character. Torchwood had Jack Harkness and Sarah Jane Adventures had the Classic companions. This was basically a new show.

With how Doctor Who is slowly losing its ratings, I don’t think it’s possible to just make another show that takes place in the DW world. You would need a character, preferably a larger character, to follow. If Clara would be in the show as the teacher rather than Mrs. Quill, perhaps the show would have been met with a different fate.

What also didn’t help the fate of the series was when the series creator quit and then tweeted openly about it. I don’t think many Class fans are surprised by this outcome, but it’s still sad to see it end.

However, perhaps this opens up the ability for Chris Chibnall to bring on a spinoff of his own. Or bring back Torchwood, like so many people want. Since Harkness can still age, John Barrowman’s aging since it went off air wouldn’t be a problem (or too noticeable, unless put side by side), it could be exactly what Doctor Who needs.

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