A planned Life on Mars sequel has been scrapped due to "financial hurdles", with the sad news confirmed on social media by creator Matthew Graham.
The upcoming series had been set to reunite Graham with co-creator and screenwriter Ashley Pharoah, who were both keen to continue the story for the first time in 16 years.
But the series, which was going to be called Lazarus, has now been scrapped which comes as a shock to fans everywhere who were excited about the upcoming sequel.
In a Twitter update, he wrote: “Some sad news folks. After many months of planning, we will now not be making Lazarus.
“I can’t go into details but the hurdles were financial not creative. Naturally all who were involved are sick as a jungle full of parrots. Not least myself and [Pharoah]."
He added: "It was a cracking concept – pertinent to our times. It had a whole new round of things to say about the relationship between the public and the police. And it was bloody funny too. But that as they say is showbiz baby."
He concluded the statement by saying: "Forgive us if we don’t take questions on the decision or on what happens next for Gene, Sam and the gang. But we wanted to let those who were interested know so that you could instead raise a pint of tan n bitter to the Guv."
Some sad news folks. After many months of planning, we will now not be making #Lazarus. I can't go into details but the hurdles were financial not creative. Naturally all who were involved are sick as a jungle full of parrots. Not least myself and @AJPharoah.June 3, 2023
Ashley Pharoah also had his say on the decision, replying to the tweet by saying: "Really disappointing news but we gave it a proper crack. We're still thinking of a way to either share the script with you or bring it out in another form. Until then... Pub?"
The characters have not been revisited since Ashes to Ashes, a sequel series starring Philip Glenister and Keeley Hawes, but John Simm did not reprise his iconic role as Sam Tyler.
Instead, we followed Gene Hunt and Alex Drake as a detective duo in the 1980s, with the show running for three seasons and concluding in 2010, after that shocking finale.
It's not known what's in store for the Life on Mars universe going forward, but for now, it's looking like Lazarus will not be going ahead as planned. Although with a name like Lazarus perhaps it will come back...
