Luther Returning for Season Five with Idris Elba

The crime drama Luther will be returning for a new four-part season, with Idris Elba reprising the title role.

Produced by BBC Studios and co-produced with BBC America, Luther began airing on BBC One in 2010 and its fourth season wrapped in 2015. Elba, who has received a Golden Globe and SAG Award for his performance in the role of John Luther, also serves as an executive producer on the show.

Fellow EPs are writer Neil Cross, Marcus Wilson and Hilary Salmon for BBC Studios and Elizabeth Kilgarriff for the BBC.

Cross commented: “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.”

Elba added: “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. I look forward to putting the coat back on.”

Piers Wenger, the controller of BBC Drama, said: “Luther is one of BBC One’s most iconic dramas and we’re thrilled that Idris Elba is reprising his role as John Luther. Neil Cross’ plans for his return promise some big surprises and what will turn out to be an utterly heart-stopping and unmissable fifth [season].”

Salmon commented: “We are tremendously proud to be bringing Neil Cross’s iconic show Luther back to BBC One. The return of John Luther always feels like an event but this time we will be pulling out all the stops to make the show bigger, bolder and of course more scary than ever.”