When the third series of Luther ended in July 2013, I thought that would be the last we'd seen of John Luther, at least on the small screen. Luckily that wasn't the case and Luther is back for a two-part TV special.
Undoubtedly one of the UK's finest actors, Idris Elba reprises the role of DI John Luther and last month I was invited along to the launch of the new series.
As a huge fan of the series this was a real treat for me, the only downside being that it's been almost six weeks since I saw part one, and I’ve still got to wait another two to be able to watch part two!
The new series opens with Luther on a leave of absence from the police force, laying low in a rundown cottage on the edge of England.
But when his old colleagues at the Met bring him a shocking piece of news, Luther is drawn back to London in search of the truth.
Back in London, a gruesome serial killer has struck the city, and with a trail of clues leading from one crime scene to the next, Schenk and his team must work out the twisted logic that connects each victim.
But this murdering mastermind is more than a match for the police, outsmarting them at every step which is where John Luther comes in. It's not long before he's back in the Bullpen, determined to steal a march on the killer before it’s too late.
Asked why the series has returned, and not as a film, Idris revealed at the launch that he "wasn't satisfied" with the way in which series three ended and admitted that there were many "unanswered questions" which needed answering, and he hopes that these two new episodes of Luther answer those questions. Speaking at the launch about coming back, he said: “We (Luther) have an audience that are very loyal, and very demanding. I don’t think they were satisfied to be honest, and I think we needed to conclude some stuff, maybe close down a chapter to release a new chapter, and keep the story growing."
When asked why there are only two episodes in Series 4, Idris said that: “The thinking behind it, is that Luther has never really stuck to any rules about how many episodes we do. We did six, we did four, we’ve changed it about a little bit. And I think that’s because we want the audience to sort of be malleable in the way that we present them stuff.
I don’t think we can take six/seven weeks of that all the time. I think there needs to be a different way to disect it. I think it’s smart. It’s kind of a bit of a re-programming for audiences, but I think that works for this type of show."
So will this be the end of Luther the TV series and the start of Luther the film? Having not seen the second part yet I couldn't possibly say, but it's certainly looking that way.
When asked at the screening about the possibility of more Luther, he said: “That version of Luther (Series 1-3) had to go, and this version is slightly older and smarter maybe, wiser, thinks about what he does next. This series begins the birth of a sort of next chapter. In our heads, this (Series 4) was the film. It’s two hours, and it’s a pilot for the film so to speak. We would love to get a film of the ground, but it takes time, and it’s really about when Neil and I are ready."