Idris Elba’s Luther will return to TV screens next year in a two-part BBC One special.
Written by series creator Neil Cross, the special will film in and around London in March and will reveal what happened to Luther since the end of the series.
Cross said: “Ever since we said goodbye to John Luther on Southwark Bridge, there’s hardly been a minute when I didn’t wonder what happened next.
“So I decided to find out. We’re putting the band back together; Luther is coming back where he belongs. Back to the BBC. Back to London. And back to work.”
The special is just one of a slate of new dramas unveiled yesterday by BBC bosses.
Other commissions include:
One Of Us, a four-part modern thriller set in the Highlands of Scotland and Edinburgh.
A horrific double murder rocks the lives of two families living side by side in rural Scotland. But instead of focussing on the investigation, One Of Us explores the fallout for the grieving relatives, and the dark consequences that threaten to shatter their lives.
Described as “a fast-paced and adrenalin-fuelled cop show,” the Brighton set Cuffs will be the first new drama series commissioned for the BBC One 8pm slot in over eight years.
The BBC describe it as “Packed full of humour and humanity, it’s an authentic and visceral drama portraying the everyday rollercoaster of being a police officer in the UK.
“Overstretched and under-resourced, the characters have to deal with everything the job throws at them – including the constant threat of physical violence and verbal abuse.”
The series focuses on the relationships between the officers and detectives and the impact that this job has on their personal lives. A character-led drama as well as a police procedural, set in a vibrant Brighton.
BAFTA-winning writer Tony Marchant is adapting Joseph Conrad classic novel The Secret Agent.
London, 1886. Unbeknown to his loyal wife Winnie, Soho shopkeeper Verloc works as a secret agent for the Russian government.
Angry that Britain harbours violent anarchists, the Russians coerce Verloc into planting a bomb that will provoke the authorities into cracking down on these extremists.
Caught between the Russians and the British police, Verloc reluctantly draws his own family into a tragic terror plot.
Tony Marchant said: “Conrad’s depiction of 19th century terrorists committed to the destruction of the West, with a suicide bomber in their midst, was not only prophetic but is undeniably contemporary and compelling.
“Equally it is a heartbreaking story of a family caught up in the political machinations of a world in ferment.”
Peter Moffat returns to BBC One with a bold series provisionally entitled Undercover.
The series is described as “a gripping political thriller with a lead character who is about to become the first black Director Of Public Prosecutions.”
Just as her life comes under intense public scrutiny she discovers that her husband and the father of her children has been lying to her for years. Is he concealing an affair, or is it something altogether more sinister?
If she digs up his real past will she be safe, and what price do you pay for uncovering lies? And who wants her in this job and why?
Peter Moffat said: “After immersing myself in WW1 and the 1920s in The Village I am relishing the prospect of returning to the contemporary British political landscape to look at where we stand and how we got here.
“Undercover is a thriller about identity, trust and the struggle to lead a morally principled personal and professional life, while working up close with the police, press, politicians and criminals who have so corrupted and damaged public life over the last 20 years.”
Announcing the new shows, BBC Director-General Tony Hall said: “Drama is something that is in the lifeblood of this country and in the DNA of the BBC too. We are making some fantastic dramas at the moment and I am looking forward to some more stand-out successes next year.”
Ben Stephenson, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning added: “Once regarded as only the home of traditional period drama, I now believe we are the home of the best writers and the most ambitious modern drama.
“The point of the BBC is to deliver range and risk above and beyond other UK broadcasters, and I believe the success of our drama offering this year and the announcements we are making today pave the way for an exciting future.”
