Luther is a British psychological crime thriller television series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan, written by Neil Cross. The detective Luther must make cases against criminals while the murderer Morgan has a complicated relationship with him. The first series is composed of six episodes which ran in May and June 2010. A second series of four episodes aired on BBC One in June and July 2011, and a third was commissioned in 2012 composed of four episodes which aired in July 2013. A two-episode fourth series was broadcast in December 2015, and a fifth series of four episodes premiered on 1 January 2019. BBC Studios handled distribution for the TV series.
Idris Elba stars as the show's eponymous character, Detective Chief Inspector John Luther.
Ruth Wilson co-stars as criminal fugitive and Luther's love interest Alice Morgan.
Paul McGann co-stars as human rights lawyer Mark North.
Idrissa Akuna Elba is an English actor, rapper, singer, and DJ. An alumnus of the National Youth Music Theatre in London, he is known for roles including Stringer Bell in the HBO series The Wire (2002–2004), DCI John Luther in the BBC One series Luther (2010–2019), and Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). For Luther, he received four nominations each for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, winning one of the former.
Elba in 2018
Elba (back row, centre) with the cast of RocknRolla at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Elba at the premiere of Molly's Game, 2017 Toronto International Film Festival
Elba at the American Music Awards in 2007