Skip to main content

One Flash of Light But No Smoking Pistol: BBC America Acquires "Life on Mars" Sequel "Ashes to Ashes"

Christmas has once again come early. Fans of British import drama Life on Mars can look forward to the launch of its sequel Ashes to Ashes on BBC America in the new year.

The digital cabler announced today that it had acquired sixteen episodes of Ashes to Ashes, starring Keeley Hawes, Philip Glenister, Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster, and Montserrat Lombard, and plans to launch the series in March 2009.

Ashes to Ashes, from creators Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah, is set after the events of Life on Mars. The series follows Detective Inspector Alex Drake (Hawes), a London police profiler who finds herself seemingly sent back in time to 1981 after she's shot in the head. In 1981, she comes face to face with none other than Gene Hunt (Glenister), whom Alex recognizes from Sam Tyler's descriptions after his "return" to the present day, and becomes enmeshed in solving the mystery of who murdered her parents, even as she attempts to return home to her young daughter. Hunt, meanwhile, has left Manchester--along with flunkies Ray (Andrews) and Chris (Lancaster)--and transferred to the Metropolitan Police in London. (He's also traded in the old Cortina for a red Audi Quatro.)

While I've already seen the outstanding first season of Ashes to Ashes in full (click here to read my review of the first episode and my very spoiler-laden review of the first season finale), I am thrilled that BBC America will finally air this brilliant and nail-biting series. And I'm hoping--given the acquisition of the sixteen episodes comprising Seasons One and Two--that BBC America will air the two seasons of Ashes to Ashes consecutively as they have with fellow imports Skins and Gavin & Stacey.

UPDATE: BBC America has confirmed to me that they will be airing Season One and Season Two of Ashes to Ashes back-to-back.

Ashes to Ashes is set to launch on BBC America in March 2009.
Labels:

Comments

Danielle C.F. Maris said…
Yay! I'm so excited that BBC America is finally getting around to airing this brilliant show. I've seen the first season but can't wait to check out season two and I think it's smart they're airing them back-to-back.

Alex Drake may never quite replace Sam Tyler but she certainly looks better in leather.
12/16/2008
Anonymous said…
It would be equally great if they'd reshow Life on Mars again before Ashes to Ashes airs. I missed most of the second season!
12/17/2008
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Have a Burning Question for Team Darlton, Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, or Michael Emerson?

Lost fans: you don't have to make your way to the island via Ajira Airways in order to ask a question of the creative team or the series' stars. Televisionary is taking questions from fans to put to Lost 's executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and stars Matthew Fox ("Jack Shephard"), Evangeline Lilly ("Kate Austen"), and Michael Emerson ("Benjamin Linus") for a series of on-camera interviews taking place this weekend. If you have a specific question for any of the above producers or actors from Lost , please leave it in the comments section below . I'll be accepting questions until midnight PT tonight and, while I can't promise I'll be able to ask any specific inquiry due to the brevity of these on-camera interviews, I am looking for some insightful and thought-provoking questions to add to the mix. So who knows: your burning question might get asked after all.
253 comments
Continue reading full story...

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season ...
135 comments
Continue reading full story...

Comics "Authority" Warren Ellis to Pen Original Series for AMC Network

I was initially surprised when AMC announced late last year that they intended to enter into the original programming route, particularly scripted series. But my jaw dropped last night when I learned who was developing a show with the network: British writer Warren Ellis, better known to many as a god among comic writers. (Full disclosure: Yes, I am a comic geek.) For those of you not familiar with Warren Ellis or his outstanding body of work, he's an extremely prolific comics writer whose work touches upon sociopolitical commentary. Some of his best known works include "Planetary" (penciled by Joss Whedon 's "Astonishing X-Men" collaborator John Cassaday), "The Authority," "Global Frequency" (which had been developed by John Rogers of Kung Fu Monkey fame as a pilot for the WB two seasons ago), "Excalibur" (starring my favorite X-Man--along with Joss Whedon's--Kitty Pryde), and "Transmetropolitan." And if you, my...
2 comments
Continue reading full story...