Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

You might be mildly surprised to see us talking about Luther here at SFB, Alasdair Stuart notes.

The long running detective series, created by Neil Cross and starring Idris Elba is superficially a police procedural but scratch the surface and you find something altogether darker and far more genre fluid. There are more than slight hints of Batman to Cross and Elba’s almost supernaturally luckless copper, held upright by his deep-seated kindness and refusal to let evil go unpunished. He’s a good man in hell, and Ruth Wilson’s Alice Morgan is both his serial killer nemesis and murder bestie, Watson and Moriarty rolled into one. It’s a show that never met a low gear but if you can deal with that, it’s a hell of a ride. Also one with its roots in horror and its eyes on espionage. There’s a very subtle Quatermass reference in the first episode and a very intriguing beat at the end of the recent Netflix movie The Fallen Sun that suggested John was about to be recruited by MI5. And yes, I want to see John Luther and Slow Horses’ Jackson Lamb go for the world’s most intense takeout too.

Now, the Radio Times has confirmed a sequel is about to enter production and best of all, Alice is back. Despite apparently falling to her death in the fifth season, Wilson’s cheerful monster is returning. Coming with her is Dermot Crowley as Martin Schenk, Luther’s former boss, a former Catholic priest and possibly his handler at his new job.

Jamie Payne, who directed The Fallen Sun returns, as does Cross. The film is described as: “Luther attempt(s) to solve a series of seemingly unrelated brutal murders, all while trying to avoid being killed by numerous other parties.”

Which honestly describes every season of the show. But they’re all really good! And horrible!

Filming starts in February 2026 so I’d expect a release by the end of the year or thereabouts. Plenty of time to revisit the show which is all on iPlayer, and The Fallen Sun, which is on Netflix.