Colm Meaney is joining the cast of the U.S. version of Life on Mars.  The Hollywood Reporter says that Meaney is in negotiations with David E. Kelley's people for the role of Det. Gene Hunt.  Life on Mars is the story of Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara), a detective from the present who has a very bad day, ends up in the 1970's, and has to readjust to life.  Lenny Clarke (Rescue Me) has also been cast in the pilot, though his character's name has not yet been announced.

Meaney is by far best known to genre fans as Chief Miles O'Brien from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.  He has also appeared on Stargate: Atlantis and Gargoyles, and has acted in a number of films, including "Under Siege," "The Snapper," and "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain."