As a show, Doctor Who constantly regenerates itself, and in addition to the main series persevering with 15 numbered doctors, it has also spawned numerous spinoffs. Since 1981, the Whoniverse has experimented with all kinds of new protagonists and side quests. Yet while some have been beloved by the fanbase, others have been nothing short of disastrous.
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With or without the Doctor as an anchor, the spinoffs have explored a variety of tones, genres, formats, characters, and concepts. Here we’ve compiled a list of all Doctor Who’s biggest attempts to branch out, ranked from baffling misfires to bona fide canon classics.
10) K-9 and Company
K-9 and Co grew directly out of the Fourth Doctor era’s most enduring companion: Sarah Jane Smith. The spinoff premiered in 1981 with the pilot ep “A Girl’s Best Friend,” and gave us Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane as a freelance investigator living on Earth, aided by a gist from the Doctor, K-9 Mark III. The concept was an early attempt to translate the companion experience into a standalone format. Sadly, however, the show struggled to justify itself from the start and never fully decided whether its audience was adults or children. It may have planted the seed for future spinoffs, but ultimately doesn’t stand up on its own and feels more like a half-baked proof of concept.
9) K-9
Unlike K-9 and Co before it, K-9 wasn’t actually anchored to a specific Doctor era, which became one of the many problems. Produced independently and airing in 2009 during the Tennant-to-Smith transition, the series reimagines K-9 as a semi-autonomous alien artifact stranded on Earth. The Doctor is reduced to a vague backstory, with no real concrete presence or tether to the larger Whoniverse. The show’s concept leans far too much into corny coming-of-age sci-fi tropes, focusing on teenage protagonists. While it could have been done well, K-9 feels awkward and hollow and more like a generic kids’ show than something in the Doctor Who canon.
8) Daleks!
Daleks! removes humanity (and the Doctor) from the stage entirely. Produced during the modern era for BBC iPlayer, the animated series reframes the Daleks as the protagonists in their own internal power struggles, tying directly into Doctor Who lore about Dalek civil wars. Daleks! succeeds in offering fans a new perspective and explains why they’re such great villains by focusing on the Dalek hierarchy and obsession with purity. However, its short-form animation format and writing weak points mean it doesn’t quite connect emotionally. It’s an interesting experiment for fans into lore, but it lacks any great character-driven narrative threads or emotional payoff.
7) Class
Class sprang from the Twelfth Doctor era and emerged from Steven Moffat’s fascination with legacy locations. Set at Coal Hill Academy (the school from An Unearthly Child), the show turns a historic Doctor Who site into ground zero for an alien attack. The Twelfth Doctor appears in the premiere, explicitly passing the responsibility of survival onto the students. This handoff means the show starts out feeling like a more deliberate offshoot than the prior entries on the list. It’s also darker and more serious, with its story implications feeling more real and permanent. Yet ultimately, Class struggles to find its footing as a cohesive Doctor Who title. The tonal shifts are almost enough to give you whiplash, and it ventures so far from the original series’ optimism that it ends up feeling like another universe entirely. It never had a chance to get better, either, as it was cancelled after just one season.
6) Dreamland
Dreamland crawled out of the Tenth Doctor era. Notably, it actually starred David Tennant as the Doctor, making it more of an animated side adventure than a true spinoff. Set in the desert near Area 51, the story has fun with UFOs and secret government conspiracies, eventually devolving into full-blown paranoia. While the premise fits in perfectly wth the pulpy sci-fi vibe of the Tennant era, the CGI animation sadly undermines anything interesting. Character movement is stiff, and the format prevents the story from going anywhere mind-blowing. Still, its direct connection to the Doctor gives it a bit more narrative legitimacy than some of the other peripheral projects on the list.
5) The Infinite Quest
Developed during the peak of the Tenth Doctor’s popularity, The Infinite Quest is another animated serial originally released in segments alongside Doctor Who Confidential. It stars the Doctor and Martha Jones and was a great supplement for ravenous superfans at the time who just couldn’t get enough. The story revolves around the hunt for the Infinite, a sentient sun that can grant immense power. The mythic scale and storytelling in The Infinite Quest is what ultimately elevate it into the top five. The animation style is distinctive, the sci-fi concepts feel aligned with Doctor Who, and the relationship between the Doctor and Martha has some nice room to breathe. While it lacks some of the punch of the live-action episodes, it ultimately succeeds as a genuine expansion of the Whoniverse.
4) Tales of the TARDIS
Unlike most of the other spinoffs, Tales of the TARDIS doesn’t push the story forward, but rather looks back into the past. Produced for the show’s 60th anniversary, the series reframed classic all-timer episodes with new scenes featuring returning companions reflecting on their time with the Doctor. And it somehow managed to do this without retconning or overexplaining. It can be hard for these legacy shows to pull off nostalgia without feeling like cheap bait, but Tales of the TARDIS resonated with fans. It doesn’t tell new stories in the traditional sense, but it enriches the old ones and is still worth a watch today, whether you are a longtime fan or a newer fan seeking a bridge to the classic era.
3) The War Between the Land and the Sea
A 2025 modern-era spinoff, tied to Russell T Davies’ renewed stewardship of the franchise, The War Between the Land and the Sea builds on greater Doctor Who mythos, mainly the Sea Devils and Silurians, exploring their geopolitical conflict with humanity. The idea fits perfectly with Doctor Who’s sustained interest in colonialism, and the more mature, grounded approach is refreshing. Nearly a month after its conclusion, the 5-part series boasts an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, though it was more popular with critics than fans. Even in the modern era, the series has done a lot to redefine what a DW spinoff can look like without the Doctor as a constant presence.
2) The Sarah Jane Adventures
Born from the revived show and affection for the past, The Sarah Jane Adventures was born out of the Tenth Doctor era and follows Elisabeth Sladen’s return in “School Reunion.” The series puts Sarah Jane center stage as an independent hero, protecting Earth while mentoring a group of teenagers who gradually inherit her responsibility. One of the few undeniable spinoffs, what makes the show exceptional is how closely it aligns with Doctor Who’s core philosophy of curiosity, compassion, and courage while standing on its own two feet. It treats young viewers with respect, tackles relevant themes around cynicism, and allows Sarah Jane to transcend the status of a nostalgic callback. Many fans have even cited this one as their first entry point into the Whoniverse.
1) Torchwood
Torchwood is nearly inseparable from the Ninth and Tenth Doctor eras, emerging from Captain Jack Harkness’ intro in 2005. Conceived by Davies as a darker, more adult version of a Doctor Who adventure, the series explores what happens when humanity confronts the alien without a near-immortal protector to make the hard choices go away. At its best, Torchwood questions the big stuff, like the moral cost of survival. Children of Earth is widely considered one of the favorites for how it forces characters and viewers to confront impossible decisions. While uneven at times, Torchwood set the benchmark for all subsequent Doctor Who spinoffs and is considered essential viewing for any fan of the franchise.
Is Torchwood your favorite, or has something else taken its crown? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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