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The South Korean cable channel Channel N also aired the series.
The South Korean cable channel Channel N also aired the series.


In Denmark "Luther" has been aired during 2013 at DR's channel [[DR2]].
In Denmark "Luther" has been aired during 2013 at DR's channel [[DR2]]. The Finnish YLE also aired it in its entirety during 2013.


The first two dubbed series were broadcast on STV 1 channel in Slovakia (september - october 2013).
The first two dubbed series were broadcast on STV 1 channel in Slovakia (september - october 2013).

Revision as of 16:57, 11 October 2013

Luther
Luther's opening title screen
GenrePsychological crime drama
Created byNeil Cross
Written byNeil Cross
StarringIdris Elba (1-3)
Ruth Wilson (1-3)
Dermot Crowley (1-3)
Michael Smiley (1-3)
Warren Brown (1-3)
Steven Mackintosh (1)
Indira Varma (1)
Saskia Reeves (1)
Paul McGann (1-2)
Nikki Amuka-Bird (2-3)
Aimee-Ffion Edwards (2)
David O'Hara (3)
Sienna Guillory (3)
Opening theme"Paradise Circus" by Massive Attack
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes14 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerKatie Swinden
Running time60 minutes
Production companyBBC Drama Productions
Original release
NetworkBBC One, BBC HD
Release4 May 2010 (2010-05-04) –
23 July 2013
Idris Elba stars as the show's lead character, Detective Chief Inspector John Luther

Luther is a British psychological crime drama television series starring Idris Elba as the title character Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. A first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC One from 4 May to 8 June 2010. The second series of four episodes was shown on BBC One in summer 2011. The third series of four episodes ran from 2 to 23 July 2013.

Idris Elba won the Golden Globe award for best actor in a miniseries at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2012, a year after his nomination in 2011.[1]

Plot

John Luther is a Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) working for the Serious Crime Unit in series one, and the new Serious and Serial Crime Unit in series two and three.[2] A dedicated police officer, Luther is obsessive, possessed, and sometimes dangerous in the violence of his fixations. However, Luther has paid a heavy price for his dedication; he has never been able to prevent himself from being consumed by the darkness of the crimes with which he deals. For Luther, the job always comes first. His dedication is a curse and a blessing, both for him and those close to him. He is unable to arrest Alice Morgan, the murderer in the first episode, and for the rest of the first series she becomes his confidante, giving him an insight into the motivations of other criminals.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Luther characters
Name Portrayed by Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Ref(s)
John Luther Idris Elba DCI [2]
Alice Morgan Ruth Wilson [3]
Justin Ripley Warren Brown DS [4]
Martin Schenk Dermot Crowley DCI DSU [5]
Benny 'Deadhead' Silver Michael Smiley [6]
Erin Gray Nikki Amuka-Bird DS DCI [7]
Mary Day Sienna Guillory [8]
George Stark David O'Hara DSU [9]
Zoe Luther Indira Varma [10]
Ian Reed Steven Mackintosh DCI [11]
Rose Teller Saskia Reeves DSU [12]
Mark North Paul McGann [13]
Caroline Jones Kierston Wareing [14]
Jenny Jones Aimee-Ffion Edwards [15]
Baba Pam Ferris [16]
Frank Hodge Alan Williams [17]
Toby Kent David Dawson [18]

Episodes

Main article: List of Luther episodes
SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedAvg. UK viewers
(millions)
First airedLast aired
164 May 2010 (2010-05-04)8 June 2010 (2010-06-08)4.83
2414 June 2011 (2011-06-14)5 July 2011 (2011-07-05)6.43
342 July 2013 (2013-07-02)23 July 2013 (2013-07-23)5.98
4215 December 2015 (2015-12-15)22 December 2015 (2015-12-22)7.92
541 January 2019 (2019-01-01)4 January 2019 (2019-01-04)9.45
Film24 February 2023 (2023-02-24)–

Production

Inspiration

Creator Neil Cross has said that Luther is influenced by both Sherlock Holmes and Columbo; the nature of Luther's intellect and its application to solving crimes is comparable to Holmes', whereas the show's use of the inverted detective format was inspired by Columbo.[19]

Filming

The first series was filmed in and around London, England, and produced by BBC Drama Productions. Brian Kirk, Sam Miller and Stefan Schwartz. Each directed two episodes and series creator Neil Cross wrote all six of the episodes. Leila Kirkpatrick was the line producer for the entire series and Katie Swinden was the producer for a number of episodes. Tim Fleming provided series cinematography for two episodes. Katie Weiland and Victoria Boydell were involved in the series' film editing, with Weiland editing two episodes. Andy Morgan was responsible for the entire series' casting, Paul Cross provided production design and Adam A. Makin was behind the series' art direction.[citation needed]

Series 1 (2010)

The first series of Luther aired in Summer 2010 and received positive reviews from critics, getting an average of 5.9 million viewers per episode.

Series 2 (2011)

The BBC announced on 28 August 2010 it had recommissioned Luther for a second series for 2011, and filming started in late September/early October 2010. Originally planned to be broadcast as two two-hour episodes,[20] it was shown as four one-hour episodes. The first episode was shown on BBC One on 14 June 2011.[21]

Series 3 (2013)

The BBC One controller announced in August 2011 that a third series had been commissioned.[22][23]

Filming of the four-episode series started in November 2012.[24][25] Sienna Guillory had been cast to play Luther’s new love interest. Further guest stars include Lucian Msamati and Ned Dennehy.[26] The third series began airing on 2 July 2013[27] and concluded on 23 July. [28]

Future

As early as 2011, Idris Elba had expressed his enthusiasm for making a film adaptation of the series, saying, "That's where the ultimate Luther story will unfold, is in the big silver screen — London as a huge backdrop and a very menacing, horrible character to play against."[29] During a BBC Radio 4 interview in March 2012, co-creator Neil Cross revealed that plans were being made for a Luther film that would begin production at the conclusion of the third series, the show's last.[30] In May 2012, Elba stated in an interview that the third series would serve as the lead-in for the planned film.[31]

The show's creator has confirmed there will not be a fourth season, but has not ruled out the possibility of a feature film.[32] In September 2012, Neil Cross announced that he was in the process of creating a spin-off of Luther centered around the character of Alice Morgan, starring Ruth Wilson. Cross stated, "The BBC is very interested in the project. The only real question would be how many and how often we would do it - whether it would be a one-off miniseries or a returning miniseries, a co-production or not."[33]

Reception

The Guardian's Stuart Heritage was initially critical of the show,[34] comparing it to the American series FlashForward in that both series arrived with a large amount of hype but delivered an anticlimactic end product. However, by the fifth episode, Heritage updated his views, calling it a "slightly sillier Silence of the Lambs" and Idris Elba's best work since The Wire.[35]

Serena Davies in The Daily Telegraph called it "formulaic"[36] and Tom Sutcliffe in The Independent thought "Luther is more a loose constellation of cop-show clichés than a fully formed character, but Elba brings the clichés to life".[37]

Ratings steadily decreased over the course of the series. The fifth episode drew the lowest of the series thus far. However, fellow BBC programmes Holby City and EastEnders also suffered on the night as they were up against ITV's Britain's Got Talent and Coronation Street.[38]

Critical praise greeted Luther's second-series broadcast in the United States. Reviews in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and on National Public Radio highlighted the brooding tone, Elba's performance, and strong writing.[39] In the third quarter of 2011, the top-rated shows on BBC America were Doctor Who, Top Gear, and Luther, which together gained the network its highest quarterly ratings ever.[40]

International broadcast

The first series of the show premiered in Australia on ABC1 on 15 October 2010 and in the United States on BBC America two days later.[41] It was also broadcast in Germany (Series 1: September/October 2011; Series 2: March 2012) where it was dubbed and cut, in France on Canal+ and in Poland on Ale Kino Plus channel. The second series debuted in the United States on BBC America on 29 September 2011 and Australia on ABC1 on 24 February 2012. The third series ran in the United States on BBC America on four consecutive nights beginning 3 September 2013.[42][43]

The first series was broadcast in Turkey starting January 2012.[44] It was also broadcast as part of a marathon on 14 July 2012 on the BET network in the US and officially began airing on its sister channel Centric on 16 July 2012.

The South Korean cable channel Channel N also aired the series.

In Denmark "Luther" has been aired during 2013 at DR's channel DR2. The Finnish YLE also aired it in its entirety during 2013.

The first two dubbed series were broadcast on STV 1 channel in Slovakia (september - october 2013).

Soundtrack

Luther's soundtrack is composed by Paul Englishby, who has so far composed the music to all three series. Englishby also incorporates many pop and rock songs into the soundtrack, using these generally in the end credits. A CD called Luther - Songs and Score From Series 1, 2 and 3 will be released on 19 August 2013 and will contain many of the themes and songs used in Luther. [45]

Accolades

2011
2012

See also

References

  1. ^ Saad, Nardine (16 January 2012). "Golden Globes: Idris Elba wins for actor in a TV miniseries". Los Angeles Times. Showtracker (blog). Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b "DCI John Luther". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  3. ^ "Alice Morgan". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  4. ^ "DS Justin Ripley". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  5. ^ "DSU Martin Schenk". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Benny 'Deadhead' Silver". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  7. ^ "DS Erin Gray". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  8. ^ Cross, Neil. "Luther Series 3". Neil Cross. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  9. ^ "DSU George Stark". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  10. ^ "Zoe Luther". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  11. ^ "DCI Ian Reed". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  12. ^ "DSU Rose Teller". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Mark North". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  14. ^ "Caroline Jones". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  15. ^ "Jenny Jones". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  16. ^ "Baba". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Frank Hodge". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Toby Kent". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  19. ^ Cross, Neil (30 April 2010). "Introducing Luther – with love to Detective Columbo". BBC. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  20. ^ "Sherlock and Luther recommissioned for BBC One". BBC. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  21. ^ "Luther, Series 2, Episode 1". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  22. ^ "BBC One orders 3rd season of Idris Elbas Luther". IndieWire. 27 August 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  23. ^ "BBC1 Boss unvieil comedy/Drama Plans". Broadcastnow.co.uk. 27 August 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  24. ^ BBC One - Luther
  25. ^ http://www.facebook.com/LutherBBC
  26. ^ Luther Series 3 | Neil Cross
  27. ^ "Luther, Series 3, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  28. ^ Brown, Brigid (11 June 2013). "Trailer for Third Installment of 'Luther'". BBC America. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  29. ^ Ask Idris: Part 5 of 5 - Luther - Series 2 - BBC One, YouTube.com, 3 June 2011
  30. ^ "Luther" Creator Says Season 3 Will Be The Last Before Big Screen Leap + If Luther Was Written As A Black Man, IndieWire.com, 22 March 2012
  31. ^ Season 3 Of "Luther" Will Intro His Moriarty, As Luther Reaches Retirement; But Don't Expect Until 2013; Also Less Alice, IndieWire.com, 22 May 2012
  32. ^ http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/24/luther-creator-neil-cross-rules-out-fourth-series-of-bbc-one-show-3936421/
  33. ^ 'Luther' Spin-Off Starring Ruth Wilson As Alice Morgan In The Works, The Huffington Post, 9 September 2012
  34. ^ Heritage, Stuart (10 May 2010). "How long should you stick with a disappointing TV show?". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  35. ^ Heritage, Stuart (2 June 2010). "Have you been watching ... Luther?". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  36. ^ Davies, Serena (5 May 2010). "Luther, BBC One, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  37. ^ Sutcliffe, Tom (5 May 2010). "Last Night's TV – Luther, BBC1; True Stories: Erasing David, More 4". The Independent. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  38. ^ Deans, Jason (2 June 2010). "TV ratings: BBC1 hit by double blow from rival". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  39. ^ Timberg, Scott (15 October 2011). "Luther – TV Review". Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  40. ^ Gorman, Bill (14 October 2011). "'Doctor Who,' 'Top Gear,' & 'Luther' Lead BBC America To Best Ratings Quarter Ever". Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  41. ^ "ABC Television – Luther". ABC. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  42. ^ "WATCH: 'Luther' Season Three Trailer". Retrieved 15 August 2013. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  43. ^ Hale, Mike (2 September 2013). "Still Lonely, Troubled and Singularly Heroic". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  44. ^ "Luther". Digiturk. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  45. ^ Amazon webpage
  46. ^ a b c d e "Luther". Emmys. 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.

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