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Luther is back!

The BBC today announced the return of Neil’s multi-award winning drama starring Idris Elba. The new four-part series of Luther will screen on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US.

Here is the announcement in full:

Multi-award-winning crime drama series Luther will be returning to BBC One and BBC America. The new four-part series written by Neil Cross and starring Idris Elba, who has received a Golden Globe and Sag Award for his performance in the role of John Luther, will start filming early next year.

Writer Neil Cross, says: “Now what? It’s a question Idris and I get asked a lot. What happened to John Luther after we last saw him striding unbowed through the streets of his city, his blood red London? It can’t be over, can it? There’s so much we don’t know. So much unfinished business.

“The thing is, we’ve been asking ourselves the same question. Because we love John and wonder what he’s up to. And as for me, I’m scared of the monsters. The face at the window. The hand under the bed. The shadow at the end of the street. Who’s going to stop them, if not John Luther?

“In the end, we picked up the phone to some old friends and asked if they’d like to find out what happens next. It turns out, they would. So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to find out what happens next.

“Now what? Luther’s coming back. That’s what.”

Idris Elba, says: “Neil, the BBC and I have been talking about a further season and I am thrilled that we have been able to bring it all together. I look forward to putting the coat back on.”

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, says: “Luther is one of BBC One’s most iconic dramas and we’re thrilled that Idris Elba is reprising his role as John Luther. Neil Cross’ plans for his return promise some big surprises for what will be an utterly heart stopping and unmissable fifth series.”

Hilary Salmon, BBC Studios Executive Producer, says: “We are tremendously proud to be bringing Neil Cross’s iconic show Luther back to BBC One. The return of John Luther always feels like an event but this time we will be pulling out all the stops to make the show bigger, bolder and of course more scary than ever.”

Luther (4×60’) has been commissioned by Piers Wenger and Charlotte Moore, and is produced by BBC Studios, the BBC’s commercial production arm and co-produced with BBC America. Executive producers are Idris Elba and Neil Cross, Marcus Wilson and Hilary Salmon for BBC Studios and Elizabeth Kilgarriff for the BBC.

Luther has earned a total of eleven Emmy® nominations, while Elba has earned a Golden Globe® award, his first Screen Actors Guild award, an NAACP Image Award and a Critics’ Choice Award for the role.

(from the BBC Media Centre for BBC One and the AMC Press Centre for BBC America)

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Luther - Series 1

...the actors' skill - and Cross' admirable ability to explore his characters' boundaries without either calcifying or forsaking them - allows "Luther" to be superhuman in both the ordinary and extraordinary sense.

Los Angeles Times

Luther - Series 2

“Gritty, brooding, emotionally raw . . . whatever you call it, Luther is powerful TV.”

San Francisco Chronicle

Luther - Series 3

It gets darker, scarier and more captivating with each episode as Luther matches wits with killers and cops alike . . . the outstanding Elba broods like no other actor, and adds nuance to the series beyond the excellent writing of series creator Neil Cross and his team

Sunday Mirror