Doctor Who will have a new companion come 2017, and there are lots of reasons to celebrate the arrival of Pearl Mackie.

Pearl Mackie will be joining Peter Capaldi in the Tardis playing “Bill,” his new companion. It’s not yet known if we’ll be introduced to her in the Doctor Who Christmas Special, or if we’ll first meet her in Spring 2017 when the next series airs. Who knows? The BBC could pull a fast one like they did with Clara, and have her arrive unexpectedly months early. A debut in Doctor Who: Class, anyone?

Regardless of when Bill officially arrives, we are excited about Bill and Pearl Mackie.

1. Prince fan

In the introductory teaser, Bill is sporting a Prince tee shirt. It’s a replica of the album liner from Purple Rain. The teaser was shot prior to the untimely death of Prince last week. Mackie, back when her Twitter account only had 600 followers, expressed her regard for the artist.

2. 1984 maybe?

The biggest question on Doctor Who often isn’t “Where are we?” so much as it’s “When are we?” In the teaser, the Doctor says, “We need to get back to the future, to 2017.” This would seem to indicate that they aren’t in 2017 currently. We are betting it’s 1984 given the oversized Prince tee shirt, acid-wash jeans jacket, leggings, and the retro sneakers Bill is wearing.

3. Diversity

Doctor Who broke ground with Martha Jones being the first companion of color. It’s great to see Doctor Who continuing to embrace diversity with a companion again. One of the better aspects of the show is that it’s willing to cast non-Caucasian actors in parts that aren’t merely one-off specials on inclusion. Danny Pink and Rigsy were two such characters over the last two seasons, and we look forward to more.

The U.K. has an ever-growing, robust immigrant and non-Caucasian population that has been reflected on shows such as The Great British Bake-Off and Strictly Come Dancing. It would be terrific if more of that were reflected on Doctor Who. Given Mackie’s Twitter timeline, it’s obvious she is vocal about inclusion issues. This can only be a good thing for the series.

4. Comic timing

Obviously Doctor Who tackles some very serious social issues, but it also does this more often than not through humor. A great sense of timing is necessary to succeed on the show. Pearl Mackie not only showed a bit of her comedic side in the teaser, but she also showed it in this PSA about dating stereotypes.

5. Theatre background

Mackie has predominantly been working on the U.K. stage. We see this as an asset, as David Tennant, Arthur Darvill, and other key Doctor Who players have also had strong backgrounds in live performance. If nothing else, theatre teaches you to keep focus. Since Doctor Who frequently films outdoors with many fans watching, Mackie will have an edge.

Additionally, Mackie has an extensive background in stage combat. This will no doubt help with the stunts and high-energy running the show requires.

6. Fandom love

Mackie seems happy to engage fans on Twitter. She’s already retweeted several fans who have sent her Bill-inspired fan art and cosplay photos. She’s clearly tweeting herself, and isn’t having some sanitized management team tweeting for her. This is a great way to reach fandom, as many of the recent cast members have not embraced social media, or have been barely active on it during their time on the show.

Doctor Who will be back for the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special, and then an unnamed date in 2017. The BBC have not yet announced their Comic-Con plans, but with Class making its debut this fall, and our new companion, we think it’s likely we’ll be seeing them in San Diego come July.