BBC viewers are hooked on an ‘absolutely brilliant’ new murder mystery series, which has been dubbed the ‘next Jonathan Creek’.
Ludwig, which stars David Mitchell, 50, hit BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Wednesday and fans are already obsessed.
In the new series, David plays John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, an introverted and reclusive puzzle setter.
Against his better judgement, he is dragged into an exciting adventure after his identical twin brother goes missing.
He is recruited by his sister-in-law (played by Anna Maxwell Martin) and the two start the hunt to find him.
BBC viewers are hooked on an ‘absolutely brilliant’ new murder mystery series, which has been dubbed the ‘next Jonathan Creek’
Ludwig, which stars David Mitchell , 50, hit BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Wednesday and fans are already obsessed
The show sees David’s character impersonate his police detective twin brother in order to find out more about his disappearance.
But in a shock turn of events, he excels at solving crime and soon becomes absorbed into his brother’s life.
All episodes have been released on iPlayer so viewers have the choice between bingeing the entire thing in one go, or waiting for the episodes to release weekly on BBC One.
After sinking their teeth into the comedy, viewers have taken to X to write: ‘Ludwig is the Jonathan Creek for a new generation. It’s all about formula and logic. It’s so simple and absolutely brilliant. Love it! #Ludwig.’
‘Ludwig is very enjoyable. Bit like Jonathan Creek in that the solving of the crime bit is very entertaining but you know it’ll all fall apart in court after the episode has ended.’
‘Watched #Ludwig this evening and it’s fab. It’s the first thing to make me smile in three days and provided distraction from this depression. Good one, BBC.’
‘I have finished #Ludwig & really enjoyed it. Several laugh-out-loud moments, murders of the week and some fun puzzles along the way.
‘Not a gritty crime drama, but thank God for something lighter after all the scandi-inspired stuff. Not quite Jonathan Creek but well worth watching.’
The show sees David’s character impersonate his police detective twin brother in order to find out more about his disappearance
He is recruited by his sister-in-law (played by Anna Maxwell Martin) after his detective twin brother goes missing and the two start the hunt to find him
After sinking their teeth into the comedy, viewers have taken to X to praise it
‘Well, that was bloody good TV #Ludwig.’
‘Just watched the first three episodes of #Ludwig and it’s brilliant. Right up my street. Some good laughs combined with an utterly ridiculous set of circumstances and characters make this an easy watch. Loving the incidental Beethoven variations too. Mitchell is brilliant.’
‘Can we just talk about how good #Ludwig is. David Mitchell is brilliant.’
‘Absolutely LOVED the first episode of #Ludwig! It feels like David Mitchell was born to play this role.’
‘Well that has us really hooked #Ludwig loved every moment of it – original different, brilliant in so many ways, funny and sad – Glad we watched it and that was an hour well spent – not going to watch on iPlayer as we want to have a treat each wee.’
The BBC’s Jonathan Creek, which aired between 1997 and 2016, followed a magician with a natural ability for solving puzzles, who teams up with an investigative journalist to solve crimes.
David told The Radio Times at a recent Q&A that he’s always enjoyed murder mysteries.
He said: ‘Some of my happiest viewing memories are as a child watching Miss Marple with Joan Hickson – I mean, she was in it, she wasn’t in the room – and Inspector Morse, and that sort of thing. I love that kind of program.’
He added that he put a comic spin on his tale to add some levity after revealing he didn’t like watching things that were too gritty.
The BBC’s Jonathan Creek, which aired between 1997 and 2016, followed a magician with a natural ability for solving puzzles, who teams up with an investigative journalist to solve crimes
David told The Radio Times at a recent Q&A that he’s always enjoyed murder mysteries
He explained that he achieved this by emulating Agatha Christie and that his latest show is littered with references to her stories
In Ludwig, the actor explained that the person that’s murdered is never seen and as a result the audience isn’t invested in them which allows the story to be more light-hearted
Anna Maxwell Martin, who also stars in the show, has undergone quite the transformation to play David’s sister-in-law
He said: ‘I don’t love watching things that are horrific and gritty and sort of remind you of the frailty of the human life.’
He explained that he achieved this by emulating Agatha Christie and that his latest show is littered with references to her stories.
David revealed that he used one of the writer’s greatest tricks.
In Ludwig, the actor explained that the person that’s murdered is never seen and as a result the audience isn’t invested in them which allows the story to be more light-hearted.
He added that all Agatha Christie stories are puzzles and to honour the queen of the murder mystery David ensured that Ludwig used her winning formula.
David said: ‘So you get the overarching narrative, but you also get the reward of a puzzle, a murder each week. So I thought it was a great idea.’
Anna Maxwell Martin, who also stars in the show, has undergone quite the transformation to play David’s sister-in-law.
The Line Of Duty actress, 47, will play Lucy Betts-Taylor in the six-part detective series.
The Motherland star swaps her usual blonde locks for a short brunette bob with minimal makeup.
Derek Jacobi, Felicity Kendal, Rose, Karl Pilington, Allan Mustafa, Paul Chahidi and Hammed Animashaun are among the guest stars in the series.
Ludwig is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now or on BBC One at 9pm on Wednesdays beginning 25th September
