Dark & dramatic
Idris Elba is back in his tormented cop role as Detective Luther returns to London’s crime scenes.
Luther Season 4 Wednesdays (from 22 March) BBC First (*119) 20:00 Action
Hard-hitting crime series Luther (2010- current) returns for a fourth season and while it’s short – two episodes – Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba) isn’t holding back the punches. “With these episodes, I was put under tremendous pressure to fulfil the audience’s needs in a much shorter time,” says Idris. “This show, this character pushes boundaries and we found that a shorter series is better for the audience at home.”
While Luther is obsessive with solving crimes, he’s also his own worst enemy and he drags himself into dark and dangerous corners to get the job done. That’s part of the reason he left London and his career in the past after season 3 (2013) when he was accused of murdering his partner Inspector Ripley (Warren Brown). But now he’s drawn back by a sadistic serial killer who’s also a cannibal. Worse yet, the murderer is striking at random and Luther is clue-less about the pattern. Idris adds that “the great thing is that you never know what may or may not happen next. That’s part of the appeal – the unpredictability. And then you’re like, ‘I did not see that coming!’”
While season 4 isn’t officially the last (yet), Idris has said that slipping into Luther’s shoes is taxing – he took a three-year break between seasons 3 and 4. “The process of being a murder detective is a deep, dark place to go. I end up living through some of this stuff and that isn’t necessarily fun. He [Luther] has a lot of demons and you end up taking that home with you.”
Just make sure that the kids in bed long before tuning in. Luther’s as grisly, bloody and twisted as previous seasons and Idris says that there’s no point lifting now, “Because that’s not what fans want. They want Luther being brazen, dark, broody and fixated, to the point of breaking down, to find his killer”.
GAME ON
Helping Luther this season is another famous TV face. Rose Leslie – Ygritte in fantasy series Game Of Thrones (2011- current) until 2014 – plays tough-as-nails Detective Sergeant Emma Lane.