Newest BBC Hit 'Ludwig' Lands on BritBox

David Mitchell's newest series, the “case-of-the-week mystery-crime-comedy-drama” Ludwig was first announced at the top of 2024, with the arrival of the first image from the series. One half of the legendary comedy team with Robert Webb, Mitchell stars as the titular character John "Ludwig" Taylor, a Professor T/Monk-like character whose mental health issues have taken him on a path to a quiet life as a puzzle maker. Mitchell also plays Ludwig's twin brother, DCI James Taylor, who disappears when the story starts. Determined to find James, Ludwig uses the fact that no one knows he exists to assume his brother's identity, which is (obviously!) the most logical way to investigate where James has gone.

The six-episode adventure was a massive ratings hit for the BBC when it arrived in September 2024, with 9.5 million viewers, pushing the BBC to hastily renew the show for another season. It also caught the attention of BritBox, as both versions of Professor T (English and Flemish) and Monk are significant hits with U.S. audiences. Only a day or so after the Ludwig renewal, BritBox confirmed it had picked up the rights to stream it and committed to co-producing beginning with Season 2, guaranteeing it will have first rights to future seasons.

While BritBox does not yet have a release date set for Season 1, the BBC has a trailer for viewers to check out from the September premiere.

The series synopsis is as follows:

Reclusive puzzle-setter, John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor sees his life of solitude turned upside down when his identical twin brother, James, disappears without a trace. In a quest to track James down, Ludwig assumes his brother’s identity, but by taking over every aspect of James’s life, Ludwig is forced to confront his own. Unlike Ludwig, James is no hermit; he's a family man and a highly respected DCI within Cambridge's busy Major Investigations Team.

These are big shoes to fill for anyone, but for Ludwig playing dad to a ready-made family proves every bit as challenging as tackling the grisliest of crime scenes. However, Ludwig does have one big advantage - his ability to see the world in puzzle form. John may be a master of all things cryptic, but can he crack the biggest puzzle of his life?

Mitchell may play the lead and the disappeared; however, other high-profile British actors thankfully play the rest of the show's characters. Mitchell's main co-star is Anna Maxwell Martin (Line of Duty) as Lucy Betts-Taylor, John’s sister-in-law and the wife of his missing brother James, and Dylan Hughes (Maternal) plays her son, Henry Betts-Taylor.

The rest of the stellar cast includes series regulars Dorothy Atkinson (The Gold) as the team's boss, DCS Carol Shaw, Dipo Ola (We Hunt Together) as lead investigator DI Russell Carter, Gerran Howell (Suspicion) as DC Simon Evans, Izuka Hoyle (Boiling Point) as DS Alice Finch, Ralph Ineson (The Jetty) as Chief Constable Ziegler, and Sophie Willan (Time) as Holly Pinder.

Season 1 also brings in a few heavy hitters as guest stars, including Derek Jacobi (I Claudius), Felicity Kendal (Doctor Who), Rose Ayling-Ellis (Code of Silence), Karl Pilkington (Rain Dogs), Paul Chahidi (The Serpent Queen), Hammed Animashaun (Black Ops), and Allan Mustafa (People Just Do Nothing).

Series creator Mark Brotherhood (The Trouble with Maggie Cole) wrote all six episodes of Ludwig for Mitchell after he expressed the desire to star in his own detective series. Directors Robert McKillop (Guilt) and Jill Robertson (Dalgliesh) split helming duties across the show's six installments. Brotherhood and Mitchell executive produce with Kenton Allen, Saurabh Kakkar, Kathryn O’Connor, and Chris Sussman; the producer is Georgie Fallon.

Ludwig Season 1 will premiere on BritBox in the first half of 2025. Season 2 is in pre-production and expected out in the U.K. in late 2025 and following on BritBox in 2026.