BBC America and BBC One have announced a ghost-hunter drama from Life On Mars and Ashes to Ashes creators Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham.

Called The Living and the Dead, the series is set in 1888 Somerset, England, where reluctant gentleman farmer Nathan Appleby is obsessed with proving the existence of the afterlife. Encouraged by the Society for Psychical Research, he investigates hauntings and ghostly visitations, but as the paranormal activity becomes more frequent and more frightening, it poses a threat to his family and his sanity.

"We are as excited about this show as anything since Life On Mars and Ashes to Ashes," Pharoah and Graham said in a joint statement. "We want it to be moving, tender, sensual ... and very, very scary."

The six-episode series is set to begin filming next year in the West Country of England.