Television Review: ‘Ludwig,’ streaming, BritBox

NEW YORK (OSV News) – The BBC’s six-part crime comedy series “Ludwig” is currently streaming on BritBox. After a two-episode premiere on March 20, the third installment was released March 27. The remaining three segments will become available Thursdays through April 17.

Comedian David Mitchell (“Upstart Crow”) stars as reclusive puzzle setter John Taylor, who publishes his work under the pen name “Ludwig.” John is unexpectedly called out of his habitual solitude for an unusual mission: to impersonate his twin brother James, a detective chief inspector on the Cambridge police force who has abruptly vanished.

The scheme in which John is to take part has been concocted by James’ wife, Lucy, played by Anna Maxwell Martin (“Line of Duty”). Lucy is intent on locating her husband — whose absence is so far known only to his family — in as discreet a manner as possible.

Lucy’s plan is for John to use James’ identity to gain access to the latter’s workplace and search for any evidence as to his whereabouts. The catch is that, in order for the ruse to be successful, John will have to pursue the various homicide investigations James would have been working on, deploying all “Ludwig’s” skills to resolve them.

This setup enables the show to operate within the murder-of-the-week genre while also playing a long game as John unravels the mystery of his sibling’s disappearance. Yet this dual structure makes for a stilted first season in which too much early energy is devoted to the exposition required to explain the missing-brother premise before we transition to James’ caseload.

With a second season in the works, it’s no spoiler to reveal that James has yet to be found by the time the first one concludes. While this results in viewers being subjected to the kind of drawn-out and unsatisfying teaser they’ve likely seen all-too-often before, at least the way is now clear for John’s substitute sleuthing to be kept firmly in the foreground.

Although this shift in focus seems promising, an obvious flaw remains evident in showrunner Mark Brotherhood’s humorous take on crime solving. Is it really credible that James’ co-workers, who have known him for years, would be so easily duped once John takes his place — all the more so, given the brothers’ starkly different personalities?

Despite these shaky elements at the start, there’s still much to enjoy about this cozy British whodunit, directed by Robert McKillop and Jill Robertson. Martin and Mitchell’s complementary performances, in particular, have great appeal.

Martin perfectly conveys Lucy’s credible combination of vulnerability, due to worry over her vanished husband’s fate, and steely resolve to find him. This leads her to leverage John in mercenary fashion.

That maneuver, in turn, sets the stage for Mitchell to draw on his talent for self-deprecating comedy to highlight the confused fish-out-of-water plight of an uptight introvert grappling with chaotic unknowns. To cope with them, John will have to assume some of the qualities effortlessly displayed by his less dysfunctional sibling.

The pursuit of killers is obviously not fit entertainment for little kids. But teens and their elders will find that the unfolding stories chronicled here are free of graphic violence and explicit sexual content. As a result, this diverting series, with its fascinating brainteasers, is suitable for a wide range of age groups.

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