Idris Elba's 6-Part Detective Thriller Is Aging Like Fine Wine

In 2010, Iris Elba starred in a detective thriller series that is aging like fine wine. At the time of the show’s release, there were already one too many police procedurals. Yet, Elba’s series easily avoided getting lost in the oversaturated genre and quickly distinguished itself as a show that could stand the test of time.

There aren’t many TV shows that still resonate with audiences, particularly when so much time has passed since they premiered, but Elba’s Luther remains timeless. At its core, Luther is a recognizable police procedural drama in that it’s about catching criminals, but it transcends the genre because it was quite revolutionary for its time.

These days, it’s common for a series to have a few episodes in each season. However, that wasn’t the case in the 2010s, when TV shows had up to 22 episodes per installment. Luther stands out because it is a compact series that tells a powerful story in a short period of time. In today’s streaming landscape, most audiences prefer brevity to anything else, so if anything, Luther was ahead of its time.

Luther Is Still Going Strong 16 Years Later

It’s not by accident that Luther is a series still beloved loved by audiences, even though it debuted more than a decade ago. Luther doesn’t lean into the whodunnit formula. Instead, the series reveals who the villain is at the beginning of each episode, and then explores the psychological reasons why perpetrators commit crimes.

It’s a whydunit, not a whodunit. Modern TV shows like Mindhunter have used that particular format, and it elevated the series to masterpiece level. So it’s no wonder that Elba’s Luther fits right in with today’s nuanced police procedural dramas.

At the time of Luther’s release, Elba wasn’t as widely known as he is now. Since the actor is currently considered a global star, Luther has been kept firmly in the spotlight because fans of Elba are interested in other TV shows he has starred in, and the detective thriller undoubtedly comes up as one of his best roles.

Is Luther Idris Elba’s Best Role?

With the kind of filmography that Elba has, the competition for which one of his appearances in movies and TV is a cut above the rest is stiff. However, some arguments could be made for Luther being the actor’s best role. Before Luther, Elba gained recognition in The Wire as Stringer Bell. As Bell, Elba brought a quiet menace and intelligence that redefined what a TV antagonist could be.

Luther Rotten Tomatoes Scores
Critics’ Score	Audience Score
88%	88%

For fans of the MCU, Elba’s role as Heimdall in the Thor films might stand out as the actor’s best role due to the dignity and strength he brought to his character. In 2013, Elba took on one of his most challenging roles when he was cast as Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. The actor not only captured Mandela’s strength, flaws, and evolution over time but also perfected the freedom fighter’s mannerisms in a way that felt real.

While all of these projects have been great, Luther is still his best role. Elba adds a complexity to Luther that makes him memorable 16 years after the show premiered. The character is not by any means a regular law enforcement officer. Luther is often volatile, obsessive, and a little unhinged. The fact that Elba managed to seamlessly portray all of his character’s flaws and still make him a protagonist that audiences have sympathy for is what makes Luther Idris Elba’s best role.