Luther
BBC-1 | BBC | BBC America | BBC One | Release Date: May 4, 2010
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 60 Critic Reviews
Positive:
49
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The GuardianLucy ManganDec 4, 2019
Season 5 Review: It allows the mind to roam across many questions while the story unspools efficiently before you, asking little in the way of mental or emotional investment and giving much in the way of solidly old-fashioned whodunnitry. Pairs well with apple crumble and custard or large slabs of Dairy Milk. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushMay 23, 2019
Season 5 Review: Alice's vendetta against an equally lethal gangster keeps distracting poor Luther from a lurid case involving a fetishistic serial killer. It's all a bit much, but if it weren't, it wouldn't be Luther. [27 May - 9 Jun 2019, p.12]
60
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenSep 3, 2013
Season 3 Review: Mr. Elba remains a magnetic presence, but as with all damaged heroes, Luther presents a problem for drama writers: Heal him and he's less interesting; perpetuate his damage and the show gets repetitive. Luther seems stuck in the latter cycle. Read full review
60
PopMattersRoss LangagerSep 28, 2011
Season 2 Review: Even if it makes for far less gripping viewing in its sophomore iteration, Luther remains notable in the police drama pantheon for this stark perspective. Read full review
58
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardJun 3, 2019
Season 5 Review: Unfortunately, it’s the law of diminishing returns. Read full review
58
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardDec 16, 2015
Season 4 Review: This is one overstuffed show. Read full review
50
CNNBrian LowryMay 31, 2019
Season 5 Review: The enthusiasm for the latest four-episode run -- which again features Ruth Wilson's implacable killer, Alice Morgan -- dissipates amid a subplot involving another psychosexual serial killer, feeling more tired than usual. Read full review
50
The New York TimesMike HaleDec 15, 2015
Season 4 Review: Overall, though, nothing lives up to Mr. Cross’s previous standard of breathless improbability. The murderer, the mystery and the gruesome tableaus all feel tepid and familiar.... Mr. Elba, as Luther, is still gratifyingly larger than life. Read full review
50
PopMattersLesley SmithSep 4, 2013
Season 3 Review: When so much of the series depends on psychological nuance, the lurch into Hollywood action thriller confrontations is an outright admission of defeat. Sensationalism trumps subtlety once more. Both Luther and Idris Elba deserve so much more. Read full review
40
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertDec 17, 2015
Season 4 Review: By the end, I was wrung out from disappointment, from the awareness that Cross’s script was woefully underdeveloped, more like a double episode of a “Criminal Minds”-like procedural than part of an outstanding franchise. Read full review
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