16 Awesome British Mysteries You Can Stream Right Now

Idris Elba in “Luther”. (Photo: BBC/BBC Worldwide)

Luther

Idris Elba is in this show. I repeat: Idris Elba is in this show! (!!!)

If for some reason that single sentence isn’t enough to get you to give this drama a try, it helps that Luther is also a really great series. Tense and gritty, it follows the story of DCI John Luther, a detective with the Serious Crimes Unit. If you couldn’t guess from the super obvious name of his division, this means that Luther works on the very grisly stuff.

As mystery detectives go, Luther is particularly tortured. He’s obsessive, smart, intimidating and sometimes violent. The job always comes first, but he pays the price for his dedication, both in terms of his personal life, and his own mental well-being. Luther faces many difficult cases, but the most interesting involves his Season 1 investigation of psychopath and murderer Alice Morgan. Played by a pitch-perfect Ruth Wilson, Alice is brilliant, beautiful, and completely crazy. After Luther is unable to arrest her due to lack of evidence, she becomes both his nemesis and his sort-of, sort-of-not friend. The pair walk a fine line between danger and flirtation throughout the series, and the whole thing is kind of hard to explain, but incredible to watch.

Elba gives an incredible performance in the lead role. (And also looks amazing, if you’re looking for the most shallow reason possible to watch this.) Whatever reason you give it a go, Luther is worth it.

Number of Seasons: 4

Where to Watch: Netflix