# Ashes to Ashes (2008)

> A shot London detective wakes in 1981 and finds herself working beside the brash DCI Gene Hunt in a gritty police station.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1111

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 24
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama, science fiction
- Created by: Ashley Pharoah, Matthew Graham
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Keeley Hawes, Philip Glenister, Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster, Montserrat Lombard, Daniel Mays, Geoffrey Palmer, John Bowe
- TMDB rating: 8.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1008108/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, wry, nostalgic, tense, sardonic

## What critics say

Viewers broadly rate the series positively, praising Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt and the sharp period-set crime storytelling that follows from Life On Mars.

## Synopsis

Ashes to Ashes (2008-2010) is a British time-travel crime drama series created by Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham for BBC One. Keeley Hawes plays DI Alex Drake, a modern police psychologist who, after being shot in 2008, lands in 1981 London and must work alongside the abrasive DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister). Her colleagues include Ray Carling (Dean Andrews), Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster) and Shaz Granger (Montserrat Lombard). The engine of the show is Alex's struggle to understand where she is and get back to her own life while navigating a corrupt, rough-edged force that operates by its own code. Each three-season run of eight episodes mixes case-of-the-week investigations with a longer serialized mystery threaded through the period. Set in early Thatcher-era London, the series is gritty, wry and nostalgic, with a strong sense of loyalty and cynicism. Fans of Life on Mars, The Sweeney and Line of Duty will find resonance in its blend of police drama, sardonic humour and period atmosphere.

## Shows like Ashes to Ashes

- [Ellis (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/161494)
- [Prime Suspect 1973 (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/61679)
- [New Tricks (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/12440)
- [Code 404 (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/85725)
- [The Vice (1999)](https://ember.film/tv/16472)
- [Above Suspicion (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/15192)
- [Life on Mars (2008)](https://ember.film/tv/3545)
- [No Offence (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55662)
- [Unforgotten (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55562)
- [Criminal Record (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/127316)

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