Lucifer 1.1The Prince of Darkness has come to LA, and horns in on the police investigation into the death of one of his former employees…

There was a large part of me going, “you really shouldn’t enjoy this pilot as much as you are” through much of the second and third acts of this loosely comic-based show, with Miranda’s Tom Ellis a thoroughly charming Lucifer Morningstar whose gifts enable him to help an ordinary mortal police officer to catch a killer. But it’s a breath of fresh air, breaking so many of the conventions of the cop show and unashamedly revelling in a world of sex and hedonism.

The thought also nagged at me that I wondered just how much the concept can sustain a series – after all, Lucifer’s not going to have the personal reason to keep getting involved each week, and I’m really not sure how much his interest being piqued by Detective Decker’s inability to succumb to his wiles will be viable. Yes, there are plenty of other little ideas floating around that need picking up – the husband’s secret, the pissed off angel after Lucifer – but it all comes down to the core detective element…

Still, I suspect this will be mine (and many others’) guilty pleasures among the current crop of shows. It’s deliberately cheesy in some ways, yet somehow avoids the sleazy feel I got from the Magicians pilot – and it’s a lot of fun.

Verdict: A very entertaining start. 7/10

Paul Simpson