Jason O’Marra, a 37-year-old Dubliner will star in a new sci-fi show “Terra Nova”.

He will play Jim Shannon a man from 2149. Shannon travels back through time to set up a colony on prehistoric earth in an effort to save the human race.

Brannon Braga, the executive producer, told Variety “Writing the character of Jim Shannon, we've thought of Jason O'Mara as something of an archetype.

"He has an everyman quality to him, but there's something dangerous underneath."

O’Mara is no stranger to time travel having starred in the American version of “Life on Mars”. He is also well known for his role in crime drama “In Justice”.