TV viewers could be going back in time once again with the potential resurrection of BBC drama Life on Mars.
It’s been 20 years since the Emmy-winning time-travel drama starring John Simm and Phillip Glenister concluded, but co-creator Ashley Pharoah has suggested new episodes are on the verge of being greenlit.
“Something is stirring in the Life on Mars world,” he said, adding: “I’m sworn to secrecy, but the Cortina isn’t ready for the scrapyard just yet.”
However, the BBC has confirmed it won’t be involved with the project, telling The Sun: “There are no plans for Life on Mars to return to the BBC.” The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment.
Life on Mars follows Simm’s Manchester police officer Sam Tyler, who wakes up after a car accident to find he’s travelled back in time to 1973, where he’s working the same job under the command of grouchy DCI Gene Hunt (Glenister).
The acclaimed show, inspired by Twilight Zone episode “A Stop at Willoughby”, was a huge hit for the BBC and won an International Emmy Award for Best Drama.
However, Pharoah said “there was a bit of worry from the BBC” about making a third series in the franchise, titled Lazarus.
Named after the 1971 David Bowie song, Life on Mars ran for two seasons from 2006 to 2007, with sequel series Ashes to Ashes, named after the 1980 Bowie track, airing from 2008 to 2010.
A third series has been in the works for some time, with creators opting to name it after Bowie’s final single before his death on 10 January 2016.
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Pharoah’s co-writer Matthew Green said the pair came up with the idea for Lazarus in lockdown and brought it to the BBC, who told them they “didn’t want to relive past glories”.
“Financial hurdles” have also been given as the reason Lazarus is yet to be made, with Green revealing streaming service Britbox also turned the series down.
He said this “puzzled” the show’s creative team, considering that fan demand for more episodes was there.
Ashes to Ashes replaced Simm’s Sam Tyler with London police officer Alex Drake, played by Keeley Hawes, who travelled back in time to 1981 after being shot.
If Lazarus moves ahead, it will bring back the original Life On Mars characters Tyler and Hunt, with the modern-day men finding themselves transported back to 1977.