Idris Elba has donned John Luther’s coat once more for Luther: The Fallen Sun, a sequel film to the award-winning series. Guest starring Andy Serkis as serial killer David Robey and Cynthia Erivo as DCI Odette Raine, the film checks back in with the now-disgraced detective as Luther sits behind bars. When a psychopath begins terrorizing London and taunting Luther with his murder spree, Luther hatches a plan to break free and finish the job.
If you loved the series and the new movie, which began streaming on Netflix this month, let us introduce you to five other series you might like for your next binge.
Luther debuted in 2010 and has run for 20 episodes total across five seasons, all of which are Fresh with three that are Certified Fresh. Plus, Elba has earned Emmy nominations for all but one of them — the dude’s impressive.
The 2023 Netflix movie continuation, Luther: The Fallen Sun, is also Fresh with a 68% Tomatometer score.
Once you’ve finished that film that’s based on the series, this list should fill up your show-watching calendar for the next few weeks.
Watch also: Idris Elba and Andy Serkis Talk Fight Scenes, a New Villain, and the Luther Walk in Film Luther: The Fallen Sun
Brand-New Pick:
99%
Poker Face
(Peacock)
This murder-mystery series was created by Rian Johnson and stars Natasha Lyonne. In it, she plays a Vegas casino worker who goes on the run and winds up solving crimes from town to town with her unique ability to tell when someone’s lying.
The recurring supporting cast includes Benjamin Bratt and Ron Perlman, while a whole boatload of guest stars fill in the holes for each episode, like Adrien Brody, Chloë Sevigny, John Ratzenberger, Ellen Barkin, and many more.
Poker Face uses a form of inverted detective storytelling made popular by Columbo called “howcatchem,” where the crime is shown at the beginning before diving into the solving part.
Whatever it is, it works; the first season is a Certified Fresh 99% on the Tomatometer with a Critics Consensus that praises Lyonne’s performance and calls the show “a puzzle box of modest ambitions working with a full deck.”
You can binge the first and only season so far in about 11 hours on Peacock.
Certified Fresh Pick:
97%
Mindhunter
(Netflix)
This Netflix series ran for two very Certified Fresh seasons and is based on the 1995 true-crime book called Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit.
It stars Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv as part of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit as it was first forming in the late 1970s, when criminal profiling was becoming a thing. Much of the show features agents interviewing famous serial killers while attempting to solve other cases.
Among the executive producers for Mindhunter are Charlize Theron and David Fincher, the latter of which directed most of the episodes and basically served as showrunner.
Critics have said this show “distinguishes itself in a crowded genre with ambitiously cinematic visuals and a meticulous attention to character development” and is “as unsettling as it is utterly absorbing” — it’s a ton of adjectives, we know.
Fincher has put to rest rumors of a third season coming to Netflix — but never say never, we say (crossing fingers). In the meantime, 19 hours is what you’ll need to binge the first two seasons on Netflix.
Throwback Pick:
– –
In the Heat of the Night
(NBC/CBS)
(Photo by Tony Esparza/©MGM/courtesy Everett Collection)
This mystery–crime drama takes us back to the late ’80s and early ’90s, with a series that was loosely based on the 1967 film and 1965 novel of the same name.
Emmy winner Carroll O’Connor stars alongside the Emmy and Oscar-nominated Howard Rollins as a Southern police chief and a detective, respectively, who set aside racial animosity to try and solve crimes in Mississippi.
The show started out on NBC and eventually moved to CBS, while running for seven seasons with four TV movies that followed.
Throughout its long run, In the Heat of the Night was a steady force in the ratings and was nominated for three Emmys and five Golden Globes, and won two Image awards, among other accolades.
You’ll need about 117 hours to binge the whole series on Pluto TV. The series is also available to buy or rent on Apple TV+ and Prime Video.
Under-the-Radar Pick:
84%
The Fall
(BBC)
This psychological thriller from the BBC was filmed and set in Northern Ireland. It stars Gillian Anderson as a detective brought in from the London police department to catch a serial killer who preys on female victims, while hiding in plain sight.
As we learn at the beginning, the killer — played by Jamie Dornan — is a husband and a father living a double-life and also pretty dang charming for being a serial killer.
The series has three Fresh seasons under its belt and has been nominated for two BAFTA awards in 2014 for best mini-series and best leading actor for Dornan, whose performance is really that good.
The consensus from critics is that The Fall is “less sensationalistic and more provocative than most police procedurals and is unapologetically sexy with pressure-building tension driven by plausible characters and motifs.”
You had us at “unapologetically sexy.”
You’ll need about 17 hours to binge this series with plenty of options to stream it from. Watch it by subscription: Peacock, Prime Video. Buy it: Vudu, Apple TV
Editors’ Pick:
78%
True Detective
(HBO)
This anthology series from HBO centers around police investigations that unearth both the personal and professional secrets of those involved — cops, criminals, and otherwise.
The series was created and written by Nic Pizzolatto, with each season operating as a self-contained narrative and including a revolving door of big names in the cast. Stars have included Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Vince Vaughn, and Mahershala Ali, among others.
True Detective has put out three Fresh seasons so far, with two of them Certified Fresh.
The first season, with McConaughey and Harrelson leading way, is the highest rated so far. And critics say their performances “reel the viewer in, while the style, vision and direction make it hard to turn away.”
A fourth season taking place in Alaska has been ordered, with Jodie Foster and Kali Reis set to star. Until then you can binge the first three seasons in about 23 hours with a subscription to HBO Max or buy it on Vudu, Prime Video, or Apple TV+. There are literally enough hours in the day to binge this one!
There you are: Five titles you can binge right now if Luther is your cup of detective tea.
This list was curated to help maximize your watch time, so let us know what you think of these or if there’s another that you think would have been a good fit for this list.
On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News.