The upcoming Doctor Who spinoff series Class was already on our radar because it’s being penned by a YA writer and will focus on younger characters, but now we have another reason to get excited: A gay character will lead the show.
Class showrunner Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls) revealed after the tragic Orlando shooting this week that his new Doctor Who spinoff series will have a gay character as a lead. Who has a boyfriend. And kisses and sleeps with said boyfriend. In other words, we’re getting a new TV show that doesn’t shy away from showing the life of a gay character. It’s long overdue representation, and we couldn’t be happier that a show set in the world of Doctor Who is leading the charge.
Here’s what Ness said on Twitter:
Been asked if Class will have LGBT representation in it. Will a lead character with a boyfriend who he kisses & sleeps with & loves do?
— Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) June 13, 2016
We were keeping that secret, but today that secret doesn't seem very important. #lovewins
— Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) June 13, 2016
There's way more than one character on the show, of course; lots of stories to be told. WITH ALIENS & TERROR & EMOTIONS & STUFF!!!
— Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) June 13, 2016
So I can't wait for you to meet the characters of Class, all of em, all their sorrows & joys & goofiness & loves & losses. Roll on Autumn…
— Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) June 13, 2016
A photo of the Class cast was released earlier this year. Presumably the gay character is played by one of the boys in this photo:
A synopsis for the show reads:
Like all sixth formers, these four Coal Hill School students have hidden secrets and desires. They are facing their own worst fears, navigating a life of friends, parents, school work, sex, sorrow – and possibly the end of existence.
Coal Hill School has been a part of the Doctor Who Universe since the very beginning, but that has come at a price. All the time travelling over the years has caused the very walls of space and time to become thin. There’s something pressing in on the other side, something waiting for its chance to kill everyone and everything, to bring us all into Shadow.
Fear is coming, tragedy is coming, war is coming. Prepare yourselves, Class is coming.
Class premieres later this year and stars Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins, Vivian Oparah, and Katherine Kelly.