London Calling finds the grit amidst the glamour with compelling crime drama Luther

BBC Worldwide Channels continues to bring London to the World with the remarkable London Calling season highlighting the human element of the city of 2012 with all its quirks, charms, triumphs, and challenges. Turning to the darker side of the sprawling metropolis, the season is presenting the thrilling crime series Luther to audiences in participating regions.

Critically acclaimed for his role in the cult classic television series The Wire, Idris Elba has won a Golden Globe® for his portrayal of the troubled Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) John Luther. The series focuses on Luther’s struggles to keep his dark genius and the grisly subject matter of his career from consuming his life. As Luther wrestles with his demons, the distinctive psychological drama delves into the minds of the murderers he is charged with capturing.

Depending on regional scheduling, viewers will be treated to the first series consisting of six episodes and/or the second series with four episodes. The first series introduces viewers to the obsessive, nearly possessed, and occasionally violent approach Luther takes toward his work in the Serious Crime Unit. Set and filmed in the London, the cinematography parallels the brooding nature of the story line and the driven title character. Luther faces a sniper taking out police officers, a serial killer draining the blood from mothers, secrets from his past, hostage situations, corruption, and being framed for the murder of someone he loves.

In the second series, Luther is nearly destroyed by this grisly murder and the battle to clear his name. He returns to work, entering a different world in the police department. His former unit has been disbanded and he is placed in a new department in which he must rapidly assemble a new team, picking up his former partner Detective Justin Ripley (Warren Brown). Soon, they are grappling with their first case involving a masked stranger wandering London and committing truly appalling murders in a historic spots with ritualistic flourishes. Can the team catch him before he achieves his final, horrifying masterpiece?

Pulsating with dark energy, the series has met with positive reviews at home, with The Times calling it: “Taut, punchy, brilliantly filmed and acted with total conviction”. The Daily Mail said: “Beautifully done and deliciously intriguing – and the powerfully charismatic Elba is terrific”.

To find out about London-focused crime dramas like Luther and the engaging Sherlock series, along with information on other BBC programmes in the London Calling season, such as Olympic-themed programming like the hilarious comedy series Twenty Twelve, which will get viewers even more excited to watch the Olympics on TV later in the summer, please visit www.londoncallingbbc.com or your local BBC website.