Class (2016 TV series)  Class is a British science fiction drama programme, and a spin-off of the long-running programme "Doctor Who". It was created and written by Patrick Ness, who also produced alongside "Doctor Who" showrunner and lead writer Steven Moffat, and Brian Minchin, who acted as producer on "Doctor Who" and two of its previous spin-offs, "Torchwood" and "The Sarah Jane Adventures". The series of eight episodes was released on BBC Three between 22 October and 3 December 2016. The story focuses on five of the students and staff at Coal Hill Academy, a longtime recurrent location of "Doctor Who", who are tasked by the Doctor to deal with alien threats while trying to deal with their personal lives. The series received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its darker tone, writing, themes, characters, and acting. However, the series scored poor viewership figures for its broadcast on BBC One. In September 2017, BBC Three confirmed that the series was cancelled. In 2018 Big Finish Productions produced a series of six "Class" audio adventures, telling the further adventures of the students at Coal Hill Academy. Six more audio adventures were announced for release starting in April 2020, with 2 of the main characters being recast. The programme is set in Coal Hill Academy, a fictional school that has been featured in "Doctor Who" since the 1963 serial, "An Unearthly Child", and focuses on six of its students and staff members. The sixth formers of Coal Hill Academy all have their own secrets and desires. They have to deal with the stresses of everyday life, including friends, parents, school work, sex, and sorrow, but also the horrors that come from time travel. The Doctor and his time-travelling have made the walls of space and time stretch thin, and monsters beyond imagination are planning to break through and wreak havoc upon the Earth. The programme was announced on 1 October 2015. Steven Moffat executive-produces the programme. It was revealed on 27 April 2016 that Coal Hill was now an academy. Ed Bazalgette was the first director announced for the series. Philippa Langdale directed two episodes, Wayne Yip also directed a number of episodes for the series, and Julian Holmes directed the finale. In June 2017, Ness announced that if a second series were to go ahead, he would not be continuing as a writer for the series. On 7 September 2017, BBC Three controller Damian Kavanagh confirmed that the series had officially been cancelled.