Scripted series · BBC One
Luther
What if your worst enemy was your own conscience?
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Idris Elba
John Luther
20 eps
Indira Varma
Zoe Luther
6 eps
Steven Mackintosh
Ian Reed
6 eps
Saskia Reeves
Rose Teller
6 eps
Dermot Crowley
Martin Schenk
17 eps
Aimee-Ffion Edwards
Jenny Jones
4 eps
Nikki Amuka-Bird
Erin Gray
8 eps
Sienna Guillory
Mary Day
4 eps
David O'Hara
George Stark
4 eps
Gary Hailes
Donnie McKinney
4 eps
Hermione Norris
Vivien Lake
4 eps
Michael Smiley
Benny Silver
17 eps
Paul McGann
Mark North
10 eps
Ruth Wilson
Alice Morgan
13 eps
Warren Brown
Justin Ripley
15 eps
Laura Haddock
Megan Cantor
2 eps
Patrick Malahide
George Cornelius
6 eps
John Heffernan
Steven Rose
2 eps
Wunmi Mosaku
Catherine Halliday
4 eps
Enzo Cilenti
Jeremy Lake
4 eps
Kierston Wareing
Caroline Jones
4 eps
Rose Leslie
Emma Lane
2 eps
Paul Rhys
Lucien Burgess
1 eps
Sean Pertwee
Terry Lynch
1 eps
Nicola Walker
Linda Shand
1 eps
Alexander Morton
Bill Winingham
1 eps
Andrew Tiernan
Richard Henley
1 eps
Louise Rose
Corrine Day
1 eps
Rob Jarvis
Graham Shand
1 eps
Ross McCall
Daniel Sugarman
1 eps
Ania Sowinski
Evangeline Nixon
1 eps
Matti Houghton
Layla
1 eps
Luke Ward-Wilkinson
Owen Woodward
1 eps
Thomas Lockyer
James Carrodus
1 eps
Jami Reid-Quarrell
James Hauser
2 eps
Michael Obiora
Errol Minty
4 eps
Luke Westlake
Lee Peck
1 eps
Roberta Taylor
Celia Lavender
3 eps
Anthony Howell
Palmer
2 eps
Nicholas Asbury
DCI Woodgate
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Luther actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Luther reads strongest on Tension, Character Depth and Bingeability.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the depraved murderers he hunts.
The run
Seasons
5 seasons · 20 episodes.
- Poster unavailableSpecials
Season 0 · Complete
Specials
20106 episodes
Best episode · S00E01 Extended Inside Look - S1 Ep 1
Season 1 · Complete
Series 1
20106 episodes
7.9IMDbBest episode · S01E06 Episode 6
Season 2 · Complete
Series 2
20114 episodes
8.0IMDbBest episode · S02E04 Episode 4
Season 3 · Complete
Series 3
20134 episodes
8.0IMDbBest episode · S03E03 Episode 3
Season 4 · Complete
Series 4
20152 episodes
7.5IMDbBest episode · S04E02 Episode 2
Season 5 · Complete
Series 5
20194 episodes
8.1IMDbBest episode · S05E03 Episode 3
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S02E04
Episode 4
Luther's personal and professional life spirals out of control as he tries to cover up Toby's death and appease a suspicious Baba. He must also protect Jenny from any further harm. At work there's also a killer at large whose actions are ruled by his dice. How do you stop a man who sees life and death as a game and whose actions can't be predicted?
- Directed by Sam Miller
- Written by Neil Cross
S01E06
Episode 6
Luther, suspected of murder, goes on the run to try and prove his innocence. With Alice's assistance, they set out together to exact revenge on the real killer.
- Directed by Stefan Schwartz
- Written by Neil Cross
S05E03
Episode 3
With his friend in peril and a young woman kidnapped by the relentless serial killer, can Luther protect the innocent while preventing Cornelius's violent revenge from consuming him? Who is Luther willing to save, and who can't he bear to lose?
- Directed by Jamie Payne
- Written by Neil Cross
S05E01
Episode 1
A new spate of nightmarish murders brings DCI John Luther to once again face the depths of human depravity on the streets of London. As the body count rises, and gangster George Cornelius applies his own pressure, can Luther catch the killer and save his own neck?
- Directed by Jamie Payne
- Written by Neil Cross
S01E05
Episode 5
When a wealthy couple are taken hostage, Luther must try to avert a disastrous chain of events. However, what he doesn't know is that it will soon become very personal.
- Directed by Stefan Schwartz
- Written by Neil Cross
S03E03
Episode 3
In what looks like a gangland crime - two hoodies are shot at close range. But an un-connected crime sees Luther make a un-connected connection that might provide the real answer to what happened.
- Directed by Farren Blackburn
- Written by Neil Cross
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Katie SwindenProducer
- Elizabeth KilgarriffExecutive Producer
- Claire BennettProducer
- Marcus WilsonProducer
- Phillippa GilesExecutive Producer
Writing
- Neil CrossWriter
Direction
- Sam MillerDirector
- Brian KirkDirector
- Jamie PayneDirector
- Stefan SchwartzDirector
- Farren BlackburnDirector
Cinematography
- Stephan PehrssonDirector of Photography
- John ConroyDirector of Photography
- Julian CourtDirector of Photography
- Tim FlemingDirector of Photography
- John PardueDirector of Photography
- Giulio BiccariDirector of Photography
Music
- Paul EnglishbyOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- HuluStreaming
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- PhiloStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- AMC Plus Apple TV Channel Streaming
- Britbox Apple TV Channel Streaming
- AMC+ Amazon ChannelStreaming
- AMC+Streaming
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- YouTube TVStreaming
- Acorn TVStreaming
- BritBoxStreaming
- AcornTV Amazon ChannelStreaming
- BritBox Amazon ChannelStreaming
- Spectrum On DemandStreaming
- Acorn TV Apple TVStreaming
If you liked this
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Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Dexter
2006
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
The Wire
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A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
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Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
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Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
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A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Never stop watching
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