Ludwig Series 2 is here, and it continues to be one of the most improbable detective series on TV, whilst also being mindblowingly brilliant!
Puzzle enthusiast John Taylor (David Mitchell) spent six episodes pretending to be his identical cop brother James – who’s gone AWOL, lying to the police and getting James’ wife, Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin – Star City), to also commit the same crime. So, they’re both committing crimes to help SOLVE crimes.
It beggars belief… and I can’t stop watching it!
This time round, the police know all about who John is, so they’re ALSO committing crimes while solving them, and it goes on.
For the opener, there’s been a murder at the theatre, to the elderly Lilibeth Lowery (Gillian Royale). No-one saw it happen, not even her daughters, Patricia (Rebecca Front – The Fortune) and Portia (Doon Mackichan – Funny Woman), who were sat right next to her!
Okay, it was all in the dark, because that’s how a theatre is when there’s a performance on, but it’s still crazy as hell. Who did it? Patricia? Portia? Henry, the mild-mannered janitor?
Well, certainly no spoilers here, because (a) that would defeat the purpose of watching the show, and (b) I’d get my bottom smacked, but there’s plenty to enjoy in addition to that, such as for his new role, when John is asked what qualifications he has, and since he’s only half-listening, he trills off his GCSE and A-levels results.
Plus, there’s lots of comic asides, such as cop partner DCI Russell Carter (Dipo Ola) telling him he needs to stay away from Chief Constable Ziegler (Ralph Ineson – Fantastic Four: First Steps), and how he shouldn’t be in the same place as him, ever. John confirms he can’t ever envisage such a scenario ever happening, and as we see the discussion takes place in a lift, he adds, “Except in here, obviously(!)”
So, everything to play for in Ludwig Series 2 again, and I’ll enjoy this and update the review as the series goes on.
However, there is a weird cast change situation that states cops Simon Evans (Gerran Howell) and Alice Finch (Izuka Hoyle) have been transferred elsewhere, while for another, I’ll leave you to find out about that one. All very odd to say they’ve got the push from the programme, or contracted to film other things.
However, there’s good support in their replacements, DC Caitlin Sullivan (Rumi Sutton) and DC Ethan Cole (Ben Ashenden – Seize Them!).
Ludwig Series 2 begins Thursday August 20th on BBC1 at 9pm, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Once it begins, all episodes will be on the BBC iPlayer, but you can rewatch Series 1 in the meantime.
Director: George Kane
Producer: Georgie Fallon
Writer: Mark Brotherhood
Cast:
John Taylor: David Mitchell
Lucy Betts–Taylor: Anna Maxwell Martin
DCI Russell Carter: Dipo Ola
Gareth Fisher: Mark Bonnar
Joanne Kemper: Sian Clifford
Chief Constable Ziegler: Ralph Ineson
DCS Carol Shaw: Dorothy Atkinson
DC Ethan Cole: Ben Ashenden
DC Caitlin Sullivan: Rumi Sutton
Henry Betts-Taylor: Dylan Hughes
DCC Clint Radley: Michael Wildman
Patricia Lowery: Rebecca Front
Portia Lowery: Doon Mackichan
Lilibeth Lowery: Gillian Royale
Adam Newsum: Josh Bolt
Hannah Foster: Bairavi Manoharan
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.