‘Luther’ is back after three years and darker than ever - but is there a massive twist?

There are plenty of dark crime TV shows around but do any of them really stack up to BBC’s Luther? Over four seasons, the violent and obsessive DCI John Luther (Idris Elba) has been working for the Met’s Serious Crime Unit and he’s won a good-sized-shedful of awards for the role.

Now, after a three year break, the dark and twisted police procedural is coming back to TV. “It’s going to get worse. A lot worse,” the trailer teases.

This time around, Luther is joined by new recruit D.S. Catherine Halliday (Wunmi Mosaku). And - quite excitingly - we even see a glimpse of the psychopathic research scientist Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson) who we thought had drowned back in Season 3. So does this mean Alice is coming back from the dead?

Here’s how the BBC described the new season:

When the moonless shadows of London give birth to a new nightmare, DCI John Luther played by Idris Elba is once more called to immerse himself in the deepest depths of human depravity.

While the monstrous and seemingly indiscriminate killings become ever more audacious and public, Luther and new recruit D.S. Catherine Halliday played by Wunmi Mosaku are confounded by a complex tangle of leads and misdirection that seems designed to protect an untouchable corruption. But even as the case brings him closer than ever to the true face of evil, a reluctant Luther is forced to confront the unburied demons of his own recent past. Striding back into the line of fire, he must choose who to protect and who to sacrifice.

Whatever his next move, it will have devastating consequences for those around him - and change John Luther forever.

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And describing Season 5, Elba earlier told Metro: “All I can say is we know how long the fanbase wait for the show, and we’re never taking that lightly.

“So as much as we have to keep one eye on how do we not do what we’ve done before, at the same time saying to the audience, ‘This is Luther’, so you recognise the traits.

“That’s the tough part. Because after five seasons, you kind of go, ‘Oh where do we go now?’ and for me I’m very excited about the season, it feels very similar to what we’ve seen but it takes a few turns. Luther is still the character we love to hate.”

Luther will return to BBC One over Christmas.

(Image: BBC)