Idris Elba Turns Up the Charm For 'Turn Up Charlie'

PBS viewers know Idris Elba as DCI John Luther on crime series Luther, but that's only one of the many action-hero roles Elba plays. This year he'll also be seen as the bad guy in The Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw, and he's in talks to come aboard the DC Extended Universe as Deadshot in The Suicide Squad. However, Elba wasn't voted People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2018 just because he's good at action. He also loves music, as evidenced by his taking a role in the upcoming movie musical Cats alongside Dame Judi Dench. (It's out at Christmas.)

Elba is also a DJ. He spent his struggling actor years spinning records to make ends meet under the name Driis. Now that he's famous and rich enough to do as he likes, Elba spins where he wants, when he wants, like at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, or during music festival Coachella later this spring. In his newest series, Elba takes his love of two turntables and a microphone and marries them to his acting career in the odd duck of a show Turn Up Charlie, out on Netflix this weekend.

This show startled me when I sat down and watched it. It's an easy binge, as there are only eight episodes and each is 25 minutes at a push. But most series, even the British co-productions with the BBC like Bodyguard, have a level of Americanization to them, as if they know, simply by dint of streaming on Netflix, they must be aimed at a dual audience. Not this show.