The makers of Life on Mars, Kudos, are going into space for a new series for the BBC.

Outcasts will depict a future where the existence of the earth is looking bleak, and the inhabitants are desperate to find an alternative home in the universe.

BBC Wales, Kudos Film and Television and Spooks writer Ben Richards are currently in development with the show for BBC One.

Jane Tranter, controller, BBC Fiction, said: "Following the unique success of time travel in Life On Mars, I'm naturally extremely excited about the dynamic duo of Kudos and Ben Richards joining forces to create a further dimension in BBC Drama."

The series will follow a group of social misfits and criminals - the 'outcasts' - who are sent to a new settlement on a nearby planet.

Jane Featherstone, joint managing director, Kudos Film and Television, added: "The colonisation of space by humans is only a matter of time, and we think that Ben Richards' brilliant vision of what life will be like when that happens will offer audiences a dramatic, original and entertaining new drama arena."