| Worth seeing: | for David Mitchell's bumbling social misfit, putting his puzzle-setting genius to better use, solving otherwise impossible murders |
| Featuring: | David Mitchell, Anna Maxwell Martin, Ben Ashenden, Dipo Ola, Doon Mackichan, Dorothy Atkinson, Dylan Hughes, Karl Pilkington, Mark Bonnar, Michael Wildman, Ralph Ineson, Rumi Sutton, Sian Clifford, Stephen Merchant |
| Key crew: | George Kane, Stella Corradi, Georgie Fallon, Mark Brotherhood |
| Channel: | BBC iPlayer, BBC1 |
| Length: | 55 minutes |
| Episodes: | 6 |
| Broadcast date: | 20th August 2026 |
| Country: | UK |
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Puzzle-setting expert John Taylor (David Mitchell) is settling into his new job as what they’re calling a “crime-scene consultant” at Cambridge Police department.
Two young new detectives on the team, DC Cole (Ben Ashenden) and DC Sullivan (Rumi Sutton), are a bit bemused by John’s presence at every crime scene, but they soon accept him as part of the team when they realise it’s his insight that always helps them catch the killer.
But while John is helping the police clean up the streets of Cambridge, his sister-in-law Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin) is continuing her work behind the scenes – now as a reporter for a local paper – to try to find her missing husband – and uncover the murderous conspiracy that appears to involve the local MP (Sian Clifford).
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
Season one of Ludwig was a breath of fresh air – with most people no longer being able to remember anything about the 90s show Jonathan Creek, it felt thoroughly original and we were as keen as the main characters to uncover the mystery of the disappearing detective.
Season two is undoubtedly fun, with the arrival of some new supporting characters – Ben Ashenden’s DC Cole and Mark Bonnar’s newspaper editor are particular fun – but the show slips formulaically towards complacency.
The rough pattern is that about 75% of each episode is John helping the police solve a weird and wonderful murder – an elderly woman stabbed to death in a box at the theatre, with her two daughters by her side; an ex-boyfriend being murdered during a dance at a wedding; a snooker player being killed while alone in his dressing room – and once it’s wrapped up, there are a couple of scenes at the end of each episode where they get back to the over-arching story of what happened to John’s twin brother and how the local MP is tied into it.
One of John’s main methods for finding – and revealing – the culprit is to gather all the suspects at the scene of the crime and re-enact the murder; it feels very Hercule Poirot – to the extent that one of the most famous TV personifications of Agatha Christie’s detective, David Suchet, is to appear in an upcoming Ludwig Christmas special.
Entertaining as it remains, it feels increasingly arch, with each episode clearing up a murder before John and Lucy turn their attention back to the overarching mystery. And with a Christmas Special and Season Three already commissioned, it’s not a spoiler to reveal that you won’t get all the answers you’re looking for at the end of this series.
John’s puzzle-setting genius makes you wonder how Cambridge police would solve any crimes without him – or indeed why it is that Cambridge has such unusual murders in the first place, but this is – of course – all part of the artifice that forms the forgivable foundations of the concept.
As it becomes a staple of the BBC entertainment catalogue, this show attracts a range of high-profile cameo appearances – such as Doon Mackichan and Stephen Merchant – but recognisable stars don’t sign up for insignificant roles, which – itself – provides a clue for the viewers, if not for Ludwig himself.
John’s bumbling social misfit is always a joy to watch, as he decodes the killings from the inside out, undermining everything police are taught to do. But some of the Heath Robinson contraptions used to commit the crimes – added to the drawn-out decades long conspiracy in the background – draw the audience away from the real gem at the heart of the show.