Life on Mars creator reveals it's returning for a third and final season

Life on Mars

It's time to fire up the Quattro...

Life on Mars is set to return to our screens 13 years after it originally aired.

The BBC series followed police officer Sam Tyler (John Simm) who was hit by a car in 2006 and then wakes up in 1973.

He ends up working alongside politically incorrect DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) in an era very different from his own.

The first two series were set in Manchester, and it saw a spin-off series Ashes to Ashes in 2008.

This series starred Keeley Hawes as Alex Drake, who is shot and wakes up in the 1980s.

Philip Glenister reprised his role as DCI Hunt aka 'The Guv' in the spin-off, which ran for three seasons.

And it looks like Life on Mars could be back for another round very soon.

Life on Mars

Keeley Hawes and Philip Glenister in Ashes to Ashes. (Credit: BBC)

Co-creator Matthew took to Twitter to tease the details during a Life on Mars live session, where he revealed the news.

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He told fans, "We’d never make another Mars unless we really had something to say and could push the envelope all over again. Finally, we have something."

He added, "There are bad things and there are monsters. These things are real.

"But to get to you they have to get through The Guv. And The Guv is putting his driving gloves on.”

The new series of Life on Mars is expected to take place in both London and Manchester.

The BBC is yet to confirm the new series, and we're not sure of a potential air date yet.

Previously, John Simm told us that he'd be open to playing DI Sam Tyler one more time.

He revealed: "Other roles I’ve played, in Prey and Trauma, are everymen, they’re normal guys and it wouldn’t be fair for anything else to happen to them.”

John added, "Life on Mars is very different, because there’s three years between that and Ashes to Ashes, which we could mine, it would be doable. It’s about time travel so you can get away with anything..."

We're very excited to learn more about the new season!

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.


She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress