As ABC continues to air the U.S. version of Life on Mars, fans of the police procedural show will have a chance to see what happens next to their favorite characters in the original U.K. series.  BBC America has just acquired the U.S. premiere of Ashes to Ashes, the award-winning and highly anticipated sequel to Life on Mars.

Slated to premiere in March 2009, the Life on Mars sequel follows Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) as he is reassigned from Manchester to London and embraces the '80s.  He is joined by an experienced female detective, and trained psychologist from the 21st century, DI Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes), who wakes up in 1981 after being shot in 2008.  Frustrated by each other's stubbornness, the friction between Alex and Gene heats up and it becomes obvious there is more than just a professional tension emerging.  And as the team takes on criminals in the nation's capital, they are joined by Hunt's faithful sidekicks, a newly permed Detective Sergeant Ray Carling (Dean Andrews) and the overly cautious Detective Constable Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster).

As with the parent series, the show's name comes from a David Bowie song of the era in which it is set, in this case the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes."  Continuing with Life on Mars, it has been established that Alex Drake has been studying the suicide of DCI Sam Tyler and is familiar with the detailed description he recorded of his experiences of life in 1973 whilst he was actually in a coma in 2006.

Meanwhile, fans can catch fresh episodes of the U.S. version of Life on Mars early next year on ABC.  So far, seven episodes have already aired, leaving fans with 10 more installments to enjoy before the first season comes to a close.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: BBC America
(Image courtesy of BBC )