Written and created by Neil and directed by Sam Miller (No Good Deed, Fortitude) this Luther 2x60-minute special also stars Rose Leslie (Game Of Thrones, Downton Abbey), Laura Haddock (Guardians Of The Galaxy, The Inbetweeners Movie), Darren Boyd (Fortitude, Spy), John Heffernan (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Ripper Street) and Patrick Malahide (Indian Summers, The Paradise), with Michael Smiley and Dermot Crowley returning as Benny Silver and DSU Martin Schenk respectively.
The first hour of the special aired on BBC One in the UK on 15 Decenber 2015 and on BBC America on 17 December.
"It was an absolute joy to see Luther donning his coat again and heading into the grim London underground to solve another serial killer case . . . There's nothing else like it on British TV"
Evening Standard (UK)
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"The return of the Idris Elba starring cop show is one of the strongest offerings yet of the Neil Cross created series . . . the actor's star power and ever growing range are on full display. With a cannibal serial killer on the loose, a mobster's vengeance hanging over Luther's head and the mysterious fate of the Ruth Wilson played Alice still to be determined, the dank, bloody and deadly London of Luther is once again far from the Magic Kingdom of Love Actually."
Deadline Hollywood
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"It's good to have you back, John . . . An emotional, necessarily freaky . . . and altogether satisfying story . . . Elba fills out every unlikely corner of plot and character with humor, pathos and passion just as perfectly as he fills out the contours of that coat . . . DS Jones is now Luther's foil, and (Rose) Leslie easily keeps pace with the endless dance around the moral complexities of a kill-or-be-killed world, a dance Luther and his many fans simply cannot resist."
Los Angeles Times
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"As thrilling as ever . . . there are still few drama series that can hope to match John's exploits"
Digital Spy
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"Once again, writer Neil Cross taps into deep-seated fears, linking voyeurism and technology, with a killer (John Heffernan) who observes his victims before slaying them . . . Like a lot of hard-bitten detectives, Luther is inextricably drawn into this world, steeped in a darkness that allows him to see into the minds of these psychopaths, but that invariably exacts an inner toll. Elba wears all of that on his face while often saying very little"
Variety
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"Luther still represents Elba at his absolute best . . . It's a masterpiece of a performance, heavy and soulful and littered with all kinds of unexpected choices. "
Guardian
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"(Season 4) has all the hallmarks that made the series stand out . . . It presents London as a city of perpetual shadow, forever washed-out and exhausted, just like our protagonist. All the performers are stellar . . . the cat-and-mouse game between Luther and the gentlemanly sinister George Cornelius (Malahide) is fantastic."
Entertainment Weekly
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"Eventful, exhilarating and unhinged"
Cult Box
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"Swaggering attitude means Luther can pack in meaty action, gore and multiple murders. And it's all the better for it . . . It's good to have him back."
The List
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The first ever Luther movie opened in cinemas on 24 February and premiered on Netflix on 10 March 2023, and became the No. 1 movie on Netflix in its first weekend. In Luther: The Fallen Sun – an epic continuation of the award-winning television saga reimagined for film – a gruesome serial killer is terrorizing London while brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther (Idris Elba) sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job by any means necessary.
The gripping drama starring Justin Theroux and Melissa George debuted globally on Apple TV+ in April 2021
The four-part series inspired by Neil's novel Burial, coming to ITV on October 26 at 9pm
Luther returned to BBC One in the UK in Season 5 on New Year's Day
Hard Sun is a pre-apocalyptic crime drama set in contemporary London starring Jim Sturgess and Agyness Deyn.