DCI John Luther is coming back, but only for one night. Idris Elba will reprise his role as the self-destructive detective for a one-night Luther special, which will air next month.
BBC America announced last year that Elba would play Luther again for a two-episode revival. However, the network said today that the entire revival will air on one night, Thursday, Dec. 17 at 9 p.m.
In this new episode of Luther, a cannibalistic serial killer is wreaking havoc in London. The killings bring Luther out of seclusion, but the investigation pushes Luther closer to the edge. Sam Miller (No Good Deed) directed the special.
The cast includes Laura Haddock (Guardians of the Galaxy); John Heffernan (Ripper Street) as the cannibal; and Patrick Malahide (Game of Thrones). Michael Smiley (Doctor Who) has returned to play Benny Silver. Sadly, Ruth Wilson is not involved since she’s busy with Showtime’s The Affair.
“I think there were bigger challenges when he lost his wife and his best friend. That was a huge pinnacle and something that it took him a long time to get over,” Elba said in a statement today. “And in this [special] there is something similar that happens to him that is definitely traumatic.”
Luther ran for three series from 2010 through 2013 and earned Elba a Golden Globe. The series was created by Neil Cross, who also wrote the new special.
Elba was planning to produce and Cross was writing an American remake of Luther for Fox, but that project was delayed indefinitely after there was trouble casting a lead.