Luther: Season 4

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Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 115 Ratings

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Luther

Now Playing: Luther

Season Details & Credits

BBC-1 | BBC | BBC America | BBC One | Season Premiere Date: December 17, 2015

Starring: Darren Boyd, Warren Brown, Idris Elba

Summary: Luther is on a leave of absence after many tragedies when Detective Chief Inspector Theo Bloom (Darren Boyd) and Detective Sergeant Emma Lane (Rose Leslie) seek him out as a cannibalistic serial killer draws Luther further back into the field.

Genre(s): Drama, Suspense

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Season 4 Episodes

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S4:E2. Episode 2
Air Date: December 22, 2015
tbd
S4:E1. Episode 1
Air Date: December 15, 2015

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Emily L. Stephens

Dec 14, 2015

The season-four miniseries never exceeds the brazen hilarity of previous seasons, but it continues apace, and for a show so full of intense action, keen performances, and self-aware humor, that’s plenty. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Matt Roush

Dec 10, 2015

[The] one-night movie comeback is as psychologically intense and disturbingly nerve-racking as fans could hope for (or dread).... taut urban thriller. [7-20 Dec 2015, p.17]

Mary McNamara

Dec 17, 2015

An emotional, necessarily freaky but surprisingly logical and altogether satisfying story and, one hopes, a reset for future seasons. Read full review

Chuck Bowen

Dec 11, 2015

Luther feels just a bit more ordinary than usual this season, though it serves as another reminder of how magnificently, expressively physical Elba is as a performer. Read full review

Brian Lowry

Dec 15, 2015

Yet if the fourth installment, presented by BBC America as one long movie, has a certain rote quality to it--especially after the title character’s break from the grind last time out--there’s still fun to be had in watching Elba occupy this role. Read full review

Kyle Anderson

Dec 17, 2015

Luther: Outlaw clearly wants to be a hard reset for the direction of the show, but it can’t seem to shake the clichés of its main story, which follows a serial killer whose tics are lifted directly from various incarnations of Hannibal Lecter, with a bit of Kevin Spacey’s Se7en killer for additional seasoning. Read full review

Matthew Gilbert

Dec 17, 2015

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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User Reviews

sonder

Dec 18, 2015

With fractions, I would give the start of Luther, season 4, a 9.6. But, Luther is a critically unappreciated series, and season 4 is the best season to date, and season 4 rounds up to a perfect 10. There are emotion-packed moments in this season that you won't ever forget. If you'veWith fractions, I would give the start of Luther, season 4, a 9.6. But, Luther is a critically unappreciated series, and season 4 is the best season to date, and season 4 rounds up to a perfect 10. There are emotion-packed moments in this season that you won't ever forget. If you've watched from the beginning, it's not enough to watch one of the episodes once.

Luther takes the sad trope of the weekly crime drama, and turns it on its head. The star is an anti-hero who is an uncomfortably compromised character. Story arcs with certain characters veer where one would guess writers wouldn't dare go. The ride is always entertaining.

Luther, and it's lead actor, Idris Elba, deserve their place in the Hall of Fame of the Golden Age of Television. Idris Elba's Stringer Bell character in The Wire was the best character in TV's best show. The man deserves a the role of Bond, if Sony had any guts, or desire to do more than clone a sequel.

But, what we do get is Luther, and we do get those moments worth coming back to. It's time to nuke U.S. network TV, and make room for fare that's truly worth watching.

Also: Shout out to Ygritte! It's good to see that she landed in a role worthy of her talents.… Expand

4 of 10 users found this helpful46

Greysteel

Aug 7, 2017

While welcoming DCI Luther back onto your screen is never a good thing, season 4 is a much less tighter endeavor than previous seasons. It starts in much the same mood as it's audience with Luther emotionally drained and living life on the edge of nowhere and contemplating his path to thisWhile welcoming DCI Luther back onto your screen is never a good thing, season 4 is a much less tighter endeavor than previous seasons. It starts in much the same mood as it's audience with Luther emotionally drained and living life on the edge of nowhere and contemplating his path to this point. Poignant dream conversations with dead cast members and summed up plot twists are a given. Then we spiral to the latest vivid misdeeds of London where a string of killings has the met scratching it's jaw. Events conspire and draw Luther back to service where, when he puts his mind to it for a few seconds, he's able to find the killer's identity with just a few moments of basic police work and Benny's usual technical support. And that is where the season stumbles. Particularly this season when we were introduced to Darren Boyd's character as something close to a Luther-lite. The narrative basically tells the audience that the police officers are bereft of investigative prowess without the surly coat wearing detective by their sides. Even the one interesting to and from conversation between Boyd's and Elba's characters is spoiled by the former's moronic epiphany that serves only to get him killed and then the entire content of the conversation is discarded moments later. Everyone is stupid apart from Luther. And it makes this season far too one dimensional.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

ManiacUK

Dec 30, 2015

I'm really getting tired of the pretentious, elitist attitude that comes with certain groups of fans of BBC TV series, most recently that of Luther. The mere fact that this "season" (and I struggle to call it a season as it comprises of just two hour-long episodes) can be compared with aI'm really getting tired of the pretentious, elitist attitude that comes with certain groups of fans of BBC TV series, most recently that of Luther. The mere fact that this "season" (and I struggle to call it a season as it comprises of just two hour-long episodes) can be compared with a similarly rated program broadcast on US TV is nothing short of a joke. Anyway, enough babbling, let's move on to the actual contents of Luther: Season 4.

This series predominantly revolves around Luther, portrayed expertly by Idris Elba once more, on the hunt for a new serial killer terrorising London with a sequence of cannibalistic attacks. Luther is his usual self - smart, unshaved, hiding his emotions and of course looking great in his coat. The cast around him has, however, unfortunately changed and the lack of screen time presented to any of the other actors means that the character depth is practically non-existent.

The cinematography of this season is largely reflective of the prior 3 seasons, showing London again in a grim, grey light. Everything is dark and sinister and the hunt for the serial killer no doubt takes Luther through some of the more unsightly parts of the city.

However what lets this season down the most is the plot which is riddled with holes and flaws from the start. The serial killer's motives are explained in maybe two lines of speech and then brushed away as irrelevant. Moreover the killer's actions are inconsistent and largely unexplained. Luther's pursuit is initially based around the simplest Police investigation I've seen, taking a whole period of about 3 minutes to figure out the identity of the killer, and then around pure luck and conveniences. I won't delve any deeper into the plot as I do not wish to ruin it for anyone, but the problems with the plot are far too evident, as you can discover even from the start of the first episode.

Overall this season left me unsatisfied and, truth be told, rather disappointed. It is not a finale worthy of what was an otherwise promising series. While Idris Elba has kept the whole series going with his fantastic acting, the writers have let him down. Furthermore it just has to be said that the amount of content on a whole and the rate of production is just disgraceful. Luther has been, over the years, one of the most critically acclaimed series to be produced by the BBC yet it appears that priorities lie in funding the same game shows and new TV series that inevitably die after one season. The total of 15 episodes in a series that spans over five and a half years is simply not good enough. There are US TV series that manage to provide similar quality in the same amount of episodes in just one year, and then continue the series on with a number of successful following seasons. The fact that we have had to wait two and a half years for these two final episodes is nothing more than a complete failure to set priorities correctly and the fact that they have been rather underwhelming is just like rubbing salt in the wound.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

SimboTheKing

Apr 22, 2023

I still really enjoy Luther but i am not a huge fan of this season at all. Firstly, it felt waaaaaay too short, it's like it had begun only to end. Secondly, the plot lines just felt phoned in, whilst I understand the constraints of the genre, this season felt a little bit too much like aI still really enjoy Luther but i am not a huge fan of this season at all. Firstly, it felt waaaaaay too short, it's like it had begun only to end. Secondly, the plot lines just felt phoned in, whilst I understand the constraints of the genre, this season felt a little bit too much like a Luther greatest hits and the lack of Alice and Luther's interplay only cements how inportant their relationship is in keeping the show interesting. Without these elements it felt like there was no real need to make this season - I don't think any character has fundamentally changed and, given the short nature of the season, the newly introduced characters just felt hollow and two-dimensional. A rare downturn for Luther unfortunately.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

mark_sf

Jan 3, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The writing is just terrible. The main villain doesn't make any sense, and the way the police handle it is ridiculous.

mild spoilers:

For example: The detective Emma Jones (the Game of Thrones actress) is assigned to interview everybody the serial killer knows, to see what she can turn up. This is after he's already killed many people, eating various body parts, mind you. She complains that it's "busywork"! So I'm supposed to believe there is a delusional serial killer on the loose, and not only have the police not bothered to do basic investigation, the lead detectives actually complain about it?

This is just one of dozen things I saw that make no sense at all, and show the writers are not competent to create a story for such a high budget production . Seriously, I think high school students could have done a better job. Production values, and pretty faces help the show go down a bit easier, but I really feel like I just filled up on bad junk food.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

shellview

Dec 25, 2015

For a show to work it has to make sense within itself and this season does not. More holes than my grandsons' socks. The acting is good but the writing or editing or both made this permutation disappointing. The serial killer is not consistent in what and why he does what he does. TheFor a show to work it has to make sense within itself and this season does not. More holes than my grandsons' socks. The acting is good but the writing or editing or both made this permutation disappointing. The serial killer is not consistent in what and why he does what he does. The timing of what happens borders on silliness, he ties up a family, loads them in a van and makes a clean getaway before the police get there. really? Luther realizes the ex-girlfriend connection at the same time the killer goes after her and her family, really? The female detective hides until all hell is breaking loose before she takes any action, really? Too shoddy this go-round.… Expand

6 of 7 users found this helpful61

Seasons & Episodes

75

Series Overview
Season 5

64
- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: June 2, 2019
Season 4

68
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: December 17, 2015
- tbd
  S4:E2. Episode 2
  Air Date: December 22, 2015
- tbd
  S4:E1. Episode 1
  Air Date: December 15, 2015
Season 3

76
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: July 2, 2013
Season 2

78
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: June 14, 2011
Season 1

83
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: May 4, 2010