BBC Annouces 'Luther' Will Return for a Fifth Season
In rather unexpected, but completely fantastic news, the BBC has announced that gritty crime drama Luther will return for a fifth season.
The critically acclaimed series will be back for a new four-part season, once again starring Idris Elba in the role for which he received a Golden Globe, SAG and Critics Choice Award. (Not to mention an enormous career boost.) Series creator and writer Neil Cross will also be back as well, and basically anything feels possible right now.
“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,” Elba said in a statement. “I look forward to putting the coat back on.”
So say we all, sir.
Luther’s fourth season was extremely brief, clocking in at just two episodes. And it kind of felt like it was meant to indicate an end to things, a sort of wrap up of John Luther’s story. (I mean, we all know that crime shows never really end. But it felt like a stopping point, if they wanted one, is maybe more accurate.)
But, happily, Cross didn’t see it like that, as he explains in the official BBC press release.
“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.”
Well, who can argue with that?
Filming on the new season of Luther is slated to take place early next year. And it is expected, once again, to come to the States on BBC America, though no one has any idea what any kind of airdate might be. (Late 2018? If we're very lucky? The point is, no one knows.) And there’s also no word yet on who else we might see take part – cough cough Ruth Wilson cough cough – but it’s early days yet. After all, how many of us really thought we’d get another season of Luther at all? Clearly anything can happen.
Are you excited about the prospect of more Luther? Or did you feel it was best left where it ended last season? Let’s discuss.
