Idris Elba is............LUTHER!

[Groo The Perverted]

UPDATE: MAY 6th 2011: SEASON 2 "ANNOUNCE" Trailer Has Been Released. See bottom of this post.

The Wire actor Idris Elba is to star in a new BBC1 crime drama, Luther, about a detective who is "simmering with anger and rage".

London-born Elba, who played the drug dealer Stringer Bell in the acclaimed Baltimore crime drama, will play the title role of John Luther in the new six-part BBC1 drama.

The series will take the crime genre and turn it on its head, according to the BBC, with viewers knowing the identity of the murderer from the start of each episode in a bid to focus the drama on the "psychic duel between hunter and quarry, who sometimes have more in common than either would like to think".

Elba said: "He's a challenging and exciting character because he's so complex. While he's capable of great kindness and loyalty, sometimes he steps over the edge of madness – simmering with anger and rage."

Elba previously complained in a Guardian interview in May about the lack of roles on British TV for black actors, saying he had to go to Hollywood to get his break. "Unlike here, in the US there are lead roles for black actors … I realised that if I wanted to be all I could be, I would have to go to the US," he said.

The drama is being written by the suspense novelist Neil Cross, who was the lead writer on Spooks for the last two series, and it will be made in-house by the BBC. Filming begins this autumn for transmission next year.

"It's an intense psychological thriller which examines not only human depravity but the complex nature of love … and how it's often this – our finest attribute – that leads us into darkness," said Cross.

Season 2 ANNOUNCE Trailer:

YouTube - Luther - New Series 2011 Trailer - BBC One

[WyldeMan45]

That sounds awesome!!! I really hated seeing Idris used so horribly on the Office. He is far too talented for the way the show used him, so it'll be great to see him get back to his crime roots.

[Groo The Perverted]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

That sounds awesome!!! I really hated seeing Idris used so horribly on the Office. He is far too talented for the way the show used him, so it'll be great to see him get back to his crime roots.

Check out your new favorite website that you can't get to work. lol

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by Groo The Perverted

Check out your new favorite website that you can't get to work. lol

I would if I could, lol......

[fatediesel]

Elba will always be Stringer Bell to me. This new show sounds decent, but I don't think I'd be able to watch a show with British accents. Half the time I can't understand what the people are saying, and I always get annoyed.

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Elba will always be Stringer Bell to me. This new show sounds decent, but I don't think I'd be able to watch a show with British accents. Half the time I can't understand what the people are saying, and I always get annoyed.

I work with a Brit and it took me two solid weeks of talking with him all day to finally stop noticing the accent. Than you pretty much understand everything he's saying, except when he thought it'd be funny to spend a full day speaking only in rhyming cockney slang.......


I didn't realize the show had already been airing for 5 weeks, so the damned finale is next week, lol. I thought this was something coming in the Fall.

[Groo The Perverted]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

I didn't realize the show had already been airing for 5 weeks, so the damned finale is next week, lol. I thought this was something coming in the Fall.

Jeez, I thought only the first two episodes had aired. lmao.

EDIT: You're WRONG!

Episode 3 airs on May 18th.

[Groo The Perverted]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Elba will always be Stringer Bell to me. This new show sounds decent, but I don't think I'd be able to watch a show with British accents. Half the time I can't understand what the people are saying, and I always get annoyed.

I'll admit that when I first started watching the show "Spooks" it was difficult because the DVDS I had didn't have subtitles, which I tend to put on no matter whether it's an American movie or foreign.

And so it was frustrating because I couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

Now it's no problem at all. Every now and then they may speak quickly and I lose something, but mostly it's not a big deal.

You just have to get used to it.

[bootsy]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

That sounds awesome!!! I really hated seeing Idris used so horribly on the Office. He is far too talented for the way the show used him, so it'll be great to see him get back to his crime roots.

Yeah me too.

[bootsy]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Elba will always be Stringer Bell to me. This new show sounds decent, but I don't think I'd be able to watch a show with British accents. Half the time I can't understand what the people are saying, and I always get annoyed.

To me too.

[McCrutchy]

I just watched the first episode on the BBC iPlayer...it's pretty awesome! I do have a couple of reservations about some plot twists that were too easy, like

[Show spoiler]Alice being able to find Zoe's identity in minutes online

and I couldn't help but feel that some of her acting was a bit repetitive--I basically feel like I've seen her character before, but I'm getting ready to play Episode 2 now, and hopefully her character is developed a bit more.

Idris Elba is great, and the music is fantastic. I also loved the way they did the next episode preview.

Also, since it's the BBC, here's hoping for a great BD release soon!

EDIT: Wow, so if IMDb is any indication, our friends in the UK seem to kind of hate this show, and unfavorable comparisons to The Wire abound...also, it looks like it will be DVD-only on Amazon.co.uk.

On the other hand, I have to say that I have a very hard time believing that The Wire is really such a fantastic show. I guess I'll have to start it soon...

On to episode deux of Luther...

EDIT: OK, this second episode is notably inferior, and feels rife with cliches, and the BBC episode description ruins the one interesting plot twist of the episode:

[Show spoiler]that the villain is a sniper

. Also, the guy Zoe is with is an overly-sensitive tw*t and it's obvious that we're heading for

[Show spoiler] a Luther/Zoe sex scene because she needs a manlier man type of crap--

[Show spoiler]confirmed by the next episode preview

.

I'm beginning to agree with the haters on this one, but I'll give the third episode a go when it lands on the iPlayer.

[McCrutchy]

Been watching this on the iPlayer and just finished tonight's episode (5 of 6). The series is OK: There are a lot of plot holes and characterizations that stretch belivability, but Elba does a pretty good job with what he's given, which to be honest isn't much. I was hoping that the series would be original or uniquely interesting, but unfortunately its just a rehashing of things done before in similar programs both in the UK and the USA.

There was

[Show spoiler]a shout-out to "Detective Munch" who "works in the Special Victims Unit in New York"

in tonight's episode; most on IMDb seem to think that reference was brilliant, but I thought it was lame.

I guess I'll watch the finale next week, but only because it's the end. I highly doubt the BBC will have Luther back for a second series...

[Russ103]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

On the other hand, I have to say that I have a very hard time believing that The Wire is really such a fantastic show. I guess I'll have to start it soon...

Be warned about The Wire. It's probably the best TV series I've ever watched - but it is a very detailed show. Some people call it slow paced - it's not - it's just thorough.

They take their time, going into the finer details no other show does - and they take a full season (12 episodes) to tell a story that most shows would chop down into 1 or 2 episodes. Every season works in with each other, and all characters from all sides of the story (Cops, crims, politicians, officers, beat cops, junkies etc), get their fare share of screen time and character development. It is not 1 dimensional.

It's definitely not a show for the Ritalin crowd.



As for Luther - I've been trying to find an excuse to watch this, but I can't bring myself to do it. The reviews & snippets I've seen arn't really all that enticing. It's appears to be rather run-of-the-mill.

[WyldeMan45]

LUTHER to Air in America

It’s a big day on the isle of Elba. You can check out Idris Elba (The Wire) in this newly released trailer for Takers, BBC America has committed to airing the UK psychological thriller Luther he headlines in the States, and the actor has signed on for the Showtime comedy The Big C. EW reports that Elba will appear in at least four episodes of C, which stars Laura Linney as a suburban mother diagnosed with cancer.

In Luther, Elba plays an “intellectually brilliant but emotionally impulsive murder detective.” The Neil Cross-created show will air on BBC America later this year. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Here’s the official press release:

BBC AMERICA today announced its latest U.S. premiere co-production. Luther, starring Idris Elba (The Wire), is a smart, six-part, psychological thriller that takes a bold new look at the crime genre. Elba is also Associate Producer on the project.

Idris Elba, best known for his performance as drug kingpin Russell “Stringer” Bell in HBO’s The Wire, now finds himself on the other side of the law. He plays John Luther, an intellectually brilliant but emotionally impulsive murder detective. He considers his profession a vocation rather than a job and it remains to be seen if he’s a force for good or a man hell bent on self-destruction. His confidante is also his arch-enemy Alice (Ruth Wilson, Jane Eyre), a beautiful multiple-murderess who evades his grasp early on, and with whom he becomes locked in a lethal battle of wits.

Luther is created and written by acclaimed suspense novelist, and one of the lead writers on MI-5, Neil Cross. He says: “I’m delighted that the BBC has brought Luther to life. It’s an intense psychological thriller which examines not only human depravity but the complex nature of love … and how it’s often this – our finest attribute – that leads us into darkness.”

Elba is joined by an all-star cast: Ruth Wilson (The Prisoner) is Alice Morgan, beautiful, extraordinarily intelligent and a key witness in Luther’s first investigation; Steven Mackintosh (Criminal Justice ) is Detective Chief Inspector Ian Reed and Luther’s loyal friend and work colleague; Indira Varma (Rome) is Zoe Luther, who’s had the strength to walk away from the man she still loves; Paul McGann (Withnail and I) is Mark North, unafraid to compete with Luther for Zoe’s love; Saskia Reeves (Bodies) is Detective Superintendent Rose Teller, Luther’s risk-taking boss and Warren Brown (Occupation) is Detective Sergeant Justin Ripley, Luther’s loyal, awestruck new partner.

The deal was brokered by Matt Forde, EVP BBC Worldwide Sales & Co-Productions with Chris Carr, COO, BBC Worldwide Channels and Richard De Croce, SVP Programming, BBC AMERICA.

Chris Carr says: “BBC AMERICA viewers have always loved British crime thrillers. Luther, puts a whole new spin on the genre and sucks you in with its intelligent storytelling and gripping plotlines. We’re thrilled to have Idris Elba on BBC AMERICA and intend to surprise a few people by revealing that he’s British!”

Luther, airing later this year, adds to BBC AMERICA’S new slate of co-productions recently announced including sci-fi thriller Outcasts starring Eric Mabius (Ugly Betty) and Come Dine With Me, a cooking show which follows amateur chefs competing for the title of the ultimate dinner party host.

[McCrutchy]

I'm going to guess this will do well for BBC America, although since it's only one series, it will probably come and go, as it should.

[Groo The Perverted]

Still haven't seen these, although I have all six episodes just sitting there waiting for me to watch them. I saw the opening to Episode 1 Looks awesome.

Gonna watch them tomorrow...might start tonight after finishing Breaking Bad (about 6 minutes left) and the True Blood premiere.

[assydingo]

I loved it and I rarely care about cop shows. Really hope they do another series.

[McCrutchy]

According to the BBC Press Office, Luther has indeed been recommisoned for a second series of 2x2h specials:

[BBC One Controller Jay] Hunt also confirmed the recommissions of Sherlock Holmes and Luther for BBC One. Following a highly successful launch with over 7.5m viewers watching the first episode in July 2010, Sherlock returns for three new 90-minute episodes in Autumn 2011, while Luther comes back with two, two-hour specials

[WyldeMan45]

This show starts airing tonight on BBC America. They are showing the first two episodes to kick things off.

[doctorD]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

This show starts airing tonight on BBC America. They are showing the first two episodes to kick things off.

So what channel is BBC America? I of course missed the show last night but curious as to how it was.