What to watch now that Doctor Who series 10 has finished
Some sci-fi and fantasy suggestions that can fill the Peter Capaldi-shaped hole
The Doctor has checked out for another nine months, and Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat and Michelle Gomez have said their final farewell. Thankfully, there's a whole hoard of sci-fi and fantasy TV shows available at the touch of a button that are more than capable of staving off your withdrawal symptoms. Some of them are directly connected to the Whoniverse, while others are undoubtedly indebted to it. Check out our list below.
Class
The Coal Hill Academy setting for this Young Adult spin-off, appeared in the very first episode of Doctor Who back in 1963, and has popped up several times in the years since. In Class, the school is a beacon throughout space-time, and a group of students serve as its protectors. Sadly the series never quite found an audience beyond die-hard Who fans and was cancelled after one 8-episode series.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
A loose adaptation of the Douglas Adams novel of the same name, Dirk Gently is a sci-fi mystery quirked up to the nines. Mark Landis’ adaptation transports the action from miserable Blighty to Seattle, and knocks the energy levels of the protagonist, played by Samuel Barnett, up a few notches. Elijah Woods, very far from the Shire, plays the Watson to his Holmes.
Futurama
If the madcap intergalactic adventures of Doctor Who are your kinda thing, then Futurama is well worth your time. Set in the year 3000, it follows the crew of the Planet Express, a parcel delivery service made up of a one-eyed cyclops, a pizza delivery boy who was frozen for a thousand years, and a beer-drinking robot and a mad professor.
Sherlock
Doctor Who legends Mark Gatiss and the departing Steven Moffat are the masterminds behind this modern adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels. The series catapulted star Benedict Cumberbatch to global superstardom and created the super-genius deduction sequence trope that has been utlised in recent episodes of Doctor Who.
Watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video
Rick and Morty
A time-travelling duo of a different ilk. Picking up where Matt Groening’s Futurama left off, Rick and Morty is a sci-fi animation based around the adventures of an alcoholic mad scientist Rick and his grandson Morty, a relationship which shadows that of Doc and Marty McFly from the Back to the Future series. It was created by former Community showrunner Dan Harmon, and is full of the same madcap humour, with an added pinch of cynicism.
Outlander
Wolrd War II nurse Claire Randall is thrust back to the 18th century in this time-bending drama series based on Diane Gabaldon’s novel series of the same name. Irish actress Catriona Balfe and Sam Heughan star as star-crossed lovers against the stunning backdrop of the Scottish highlands.
Doctor Who
Of course, there is no match for the Doctor himself. Stave off your cravings for the next nine months by delving into the back catalogue of nu-Who, 8 series of which are available on Netflix UK, encompassing fantastic turns from David Tennant and Matt Smith.
Watch on Netflix
