A deeply disturbed detective teetering on the edge of sanity. A city full of depraved killers. A look back at the BBC’s groundbreaking crime drama.
A decade ago, Idris Elba donned his iconic coat and tie for the first time, taking to the streets as DCI John Luther. Looking back, Luther can be credited with leading the charge in the fight for on screen diversity. Elba’s casting represented a watershed moment in British television and it is a testament to the show’s success that programmes like Line of Duty and Killing Eve exist today. It could be argued that Luther acted as a blueprint for the latter in more ways than one, with the character’s twisted cat and mouse dynamic with criminal genius Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson) clearly inspiring the warped relationship between the two women in Killing Eve. Holmes and Moriarty. Batman and the Joker. Elba and Wilson’s chemistry helped breathe new life into an old trope and catapulted the duo into superstardom. Luther itself remains a staple of British pop culture 10 years later.
The first episode of Luther aired 4th May 2010. Get nostalgic and watch the Opening Title Sequence below.
