Most critics like Luther, and nearly all of them like Idris Elba. The reviews agree that his performance as the maverick detective carries the series: commanding, angry, and lively enough to make the familiar troubled-cop clichés feel worth watching. Ruth Wilson’s Alice draws the next most praise, with several critics singling out the cat-and-mouse flirtation between the two as a promising element across the six episodes. Neil Cross’s writing is credited by the warmer reviews with keeping the show intelligent and its grim tone consistent.
The spread is wide, though. Even admirers concede the procedural bones are tired and that the midsection sags. Two British reviews go much further: The Guardian finds the characters and plot devices implausible and the show’s bid for intelligence unconvincing, and The Telegraph says the writing lets Elba down after the expectations set by The Wire. The American trade reviews, arriving later, are markedly kinder.