Life on Mars poster

Life on Mars

2006 to 2007 Crime, Drama, Mystery 2 seasons

TMDB rating 7.7/10 Ended

A detective chief inspector from 2006 is investigating a serial killer when he is knocked over by a speeding car. Waking up, he finds himself mysteriously transported back in time to 1973. Initially struggling to come to terms with his situation, he has to come to terms with the old-fashioned technology and attitude of the day, while figuring out how he came to be trapped in the past.

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Seasons2

  • The first series of Life On Mars focuses on Sam's life following the crash and his arrival in 1973. Elements are thrown in to suggest he is mad, in a coma, or travelled back in time. Also during the first series run, Sam is informed that he is DI (Detective Inspector) to DCI Gene Hunt and the rest of the CID department in Manchester in 1973. This revelation is something that Sam finds hard to understand; he spends most of the series working alone, against his team and Gene.

    All episodes available

    TMDB rating 7.7/10

  • Sam learns that an operation is to be conducted on him in 2006 to try and revive him from his coma. However, he believes that to return to the twenty-first century, he has to betray his colleagues in 1973 — but can he regard them as imaginary, or are they real - at least for him?

    All episodes available

    TMDB rating 7.8/10

This show also has specials. Specials never affect your progress, new seasons, or completion.

Cast and details

  • John SimmSam Tyler
  • Philip GlenisterGene Hunt
  • Liz WhiteAnnie Cartwright
  • Dean AndrewsRay Carling
  • Marshall LancasterChris Skelton
  • Noreen KershawPhyllis Dobbs
  • Tony MarshallNelson
  • Joanne FroggattRuth Tyler
  • Rafaella HutchinsonTest Card Girl
  • Ralph BrownFrank Morgan
  • Kevin McNallyHarry Woolf
  • Archie PanjabiMaya Roy
Created by
Matthew Graham, Ashley Pharoah, Tony Jordan
Network
BBC One
First aired
Jan 9, 2006
Latest episode
Apr 10, 2007

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Release dates are original schedules and may differ from availability in your country. A release never marks anything as watched. Last checked Nov 2, 2026.Schedule data from TVmaze, CC BY-SA.