Doctor Who might be a cultural phenomenon that’s lasted 55 years and counting, but its spinoffs have been a mixed bag in terms of success. Torchwood is a cult favorite to this day, but it only managed four seasons before slipping off the air. The Sarah Jane Adventures, meanwhile, was a family-friendly hit for five years until star Elisabeth Sladen sadly passed away. Lastly, Class arrived to little fanfare in 2016 and quickly disappeared after one season.
Thanks to the good people at Big Finish Productions, though, it’s now getting a new lease on life in the audio medium. Following on from its revival of Torchwood, and all-new adventures for David Tennant’s Doctor, the company’s resurrecting the teen-oriented spinoff for at least two boxsets of three brand new stories, with the original cast of the show returning to reprise their roles.
In case you missed the series’ initial 8-episode run, Class followed the lives of a bunch of students who attended Coal Hill School, a long-running location from Doctor Who history that’s home to lots of crazy sci-fi happenings. It starred Greg Austin, Sophie Hopkins, Fady Elsayed, Vivian Oparah, Jordan Renzo and Katherine Kelly, and the opening episode even landed a cameo from Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.
If you’re on the fence about purchasing the Class audios, Doctor Who fans might like to know that the first volume will feature a guest appearance from classic companion Ace, as played by Sophie Aldred, and will also see a solitary Dalek invade the high school. This will no doubt please those that thought the TV series was too separate from Who lore.
Presumably due to his busy schedule, original creator Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking) is not returning to script any of the new episodes, but you can look forward to the first boxset of Class: The Audio Adventures being released from Big Finish this August.