Freema Agyeman is most well-known for her portrayal of Martha Jones on Doctor Who and Torchwood. While she is a fine actor, it is not until recently that she has taken on another role which has garnered as much attention. In the new Netflix series Sense8, Agyeman plays a character named Amanita, a cisgender woman in a romantic relationship with a transgender woman. For these and other characters, the show has received much acclaim for its groundbreaking and authentic depictions of various sorts of people. And while I love Doctor Who, the writers should be taking notes from Sense8 on diversity of character types.

As much as there are differences between Martha Jones and Amanita, there are also numerous similarities. Starting with basic demographic differences, Martha is a British doctor, while Amanita is an American bookstore clerk. It is not explicitly stated, but from contextual information, it seems that Martha is straight and Amanita is a lesbian. They each in their own way are sophisticated and chic — Martha having a streamline, urban edge, and Amanita having an eclectic, bohemian spin.

Digging deeper into their personalities, Martha and Amanita share many things in common. They are both sharp, passionate, and plucky (not my favorite sounding word, but it fits). While the relationship between Amanita and her girlfriend Nomi is an equal one, unlike that of Martha and The Doctor, they are still similar. Amanita would do practically anything, without hesitation, to protect Nomi, just as Martha would do for The Doctor. As Teresa Jusino of The Mary Sue says in her article ‘Why Sense8‘s Nomi and Amanita Are Everything (to Me),’ “I love Amanita’s intuition and fierce loyalty . . .”

Both Martha and Amanita are also quick to accept things about their respective companions — things that many if not most people would probably dismiss as being absurd. For Martha, this means believing that The Doctor is a time traveling alien. Granted, this was not a stretch for Martha, seeing as how she witnessed such incredible things right before being introduced to the concept of who he is. Despite having just met him, however, she trusted him with her life and quickly became smitten. For Amanita, it means trusting Nomi when she claims to be strongly telepathically linked to various strangers around the globe.

I have watched the entire first season of Sense8 and am looking forward to more. According to one of the showrunners, J. Michael Straczynski, five or six seasons total are planned. There has been no news as of yet about the second season, but I would be shocked if the show was not renewed. As Brian J. Smith, the actor who plays Will Gorski tweets:

Hey guys we hear ya loud and clear. Hoping we’ll have news for you soon re # Sense8 season 2. We are BLOWN AWAY by the response!!

I also hope that we see Martha Jones again on Doctor Who… and maybe even Torchwood.