Life on Mars co-creator confirms show's "boundary-pushing" future in new format

Amid cryptic hints about the future of beloved sci-fi Life on Mars, co-creator Matthew Graham has confirmed that the hit series will return in the form of a new stage show.

The iconic series, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, followed John Simm's Sam Tyler, a Manchester police officer who wakes up after a car accident to discover that he's travelled back in time to 1973.

Two decades on from the first episode, the show's original creators Graham, Ashley Pharoah, and Tony Jordan are reuniting to pen a play that will "push the boundaries" of what Life on Mars was and "reimagine" the show, teaming up with theatre director and producer Jamie Eastlake to bring their vision to life.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Graham confirmed that the stage show will be "nothing to do" with Life on Mars's cancelled third season Lazarus (which the writer says is unfortunately now "six feet under") and that it will be an entirely new story.

"Just before Christmas, Ashley, Tony and myself had lunch together at a nice Italian restaurant in London, and we talked about it and we're starting to discuss what that would be and what it would look like," Graham told us.

"It's a huge undertaking for us. Ashley has written for the stage, but I never have, nor has Tony, as far as I know. So this is going to be a big learning curve for us, but also a really exciting opportunity to reimagine the show in a theatrical context."

Many details are still to come, with Graham adding: "We haven't even put pen to paper on this yet, but what I can tell you is that I'm sure that you'll get many of the characters that you love from the show. I think that would be fair to say.

"We have absolutely no idea about how we would cast this. None of those conversations are happening at the moment. It is simply at the stage of us sitting down together and going, 'What does it look like? What is this play? What will it be? What's the story, and what's the reason for doing it?' and just figuring out the whole thing."

One challenge that Graham is envisioning is getting the tone right, with the original series long being described as "politically incorrect".

"Hopefully it'll work. I think these days, we're all a little bit mindful of the world that we live in now, and making sure that the show is laughing in the right ways, but also has something to say," Graham pointed out.

"I think that's going to be important, making sure that this story, it can't be a victory lap. I don't know what it'll be yet, but I know it will have to have something on its mind to justify its existence, rather than just, 'Here's more Life on Mars that you remember'. So we'll see."

He added: "We know that the times have changed, even in the last 20 years, and also there's been a lot more drama exploring that world. And the whole political correctness thing, I think, is a debate that we're all a bit exhausted from, if I'm honest. So I don't know if it's going to be — we're going to be — so interested in that debate. But who knows what we're going to come up with?"

Writing for theatre will also be an entirely new challenge for Graham, with the writer describing it as "daunting" but adding: "I'm suddenly seeing a whole new set of potentials for what we can do."

There's no timeline set in stone for when the play will come to theatres just yet, but Graham is already amped up about the ideas percolating.

"We've got ideas, we're excited," he said. "We will be pushing the boundaries in terms of giving the audience a really exciting and immersive and entertaining experience.

"The '70s will be alive and well in whichever theatres we are playing in!"

Life on Mars is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.