BBC America to premiere 'Mars' sequel, 'Ashes to Ashes'

By April MacIntyre Dec 16, 2008, 3:46 GMT

Ashes to Ashes star, British actor Philip Glenister arrives at the British Academy Television Awards held at the Palladium Theatre in Central London 20th April 2008. EPA/DANIEL DEME

"Life on Mars" originated in the UK, and now an American version runs on ABC, and stars Jason O'Mara, Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli.

BBC America will premiere "Ashes to Ashes", the award-winning drama and sequel to the British "Life On Mars," for Americans in March 2009.

"Ashes to Ashes" (16 x 60) produced by Kudos Film & Television in association with Monastic Productions and distributed by BBC Worldwide.

BBC America viewers have a chance to see what happens next to their favorite characters in the original U.K. series.

In "Ashes to Ashes", Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) is transferred from Manchester to London and embraces the ‘80s. He is joined by sexy psychological profiler, Detective Inspector Alex Drake from 2008, played by Keeley Hawes (MI-5), who finds herself stuck back in 1981 having been shot.

Frustrated by each other’s stubbornness, the friction between Alex and Gene heats up and as the two titans collide, it becomes apparent there is more than just a professional tension emerging. Hunt’s faithful sidekicks, a newly permed Detective Sergeant Ray Carling and the overly cautious Detective Constable Chris Skelton, are also along for the ride as the new team takes on criminal scum in the nation’s capital.