Two years after the UK debut of the first season of David Mitchell’s quirky murder mystery, Ludwighas officially returned with a brand-new installment that blessedly avoids a sophomore slump. If there is one thing the British do well, it’s coming up with new ways to tackle the formulaic crime procedural, and Ludwigis undoubtedly one of the best series to make its way across the pond, by way of BritBox. The 6-episode seasons maintains a tight grasp on the overarching plotline, while still delivering case-of-the-week-style mysteries that make cozy crime shows so compelling.
Mitchell stars as the reclusive puzzle setter John “Ludwig” Taylor, whose life was turned upside down in Season 1 by the mysterious disappearance of his twin brother, Cambridge’s DCI James Taylor. With the encouragement of his sister-in-law, Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin), John began to impersonate his brother, believing that his puzzle-making skills might help them unravel the truth behind his disappearance. The status quo is much the same in the new season, though Ludwig does (rather quickly) bring John and Lucy even closer to understanding whyJames flew the coop, and it raises the stakes immediately.
‘Ludwig’ Season 2 Is the Perfect Blend of Low and High Stakes Mystery
For longtime fans of Mitchell’s unique brand of exasperated humor, made famous by his run as Mark Corrigan on Peep Show, and various sketch series with Robert Webb, Ludwigdelivers. The series even alludes to an iconic 20-year-old bit fromThat Mitchell and Webb Look, which is now forever immortalized as an oft-used and too-apt meme stateside. While John is a far cry from being characterized as a baddie, he is just as bumbling and aloof as he was in the first season, and no less the puzzle-solving, case-cracking savant.
One of the first mysteries Ludwig faces at the start of Season 2 is the inexplicable disappearance of Chief Constable Ronan Ziegler (Ralph Ineson), which poses quite the challenge for John, who has been brought on as a consultant at the constabulary, with the caveat that he stop impersonating his brother — and cease his investigation into his disappearance. Ziegler’s absence, paired with the introduction of the duplicitous politician Joanne Kemper (SianClifford), sets Ludwig and Lucy up with a whole new line of inquiry into James’ whereabouts.
Despite being a rather integral part of both James and John’s lives, Lucy wasn’t much of a major player in LudwigSeason 1. Here, however, Anna Maxwell Martin is given the opportunity to play to her strengths, and the results ensure that Season 2 is infinitely more entertaining than the first. As fun as it is to see Mitchell play into John’s social awkwardness episode after episode, Ludwigwas smart enough to shape Lucy into a savvy and capable budding journalist. This, of course, brings her close to dangerous members of the community, which adds a new layer of intrigue and emotional turmoil for John.
Collider Exclusive · Villain Personality QuizWhich Criminal Mastermind Would Be Your Nemesis?Lecter · Joker · Moriarty · ChigurhFour of the finest criminal minds ever put on screen. One of them would look at you and see something worth their time. Eight questions decide which one comes for you, why they picked you, and what they would want when they arrived.
🍷Lecter
🃏Joker
♟️Moriarty
🪙Chigurh
MEET YOUR NEMESIS →
01
What would a criminal mastermind notice about you first?Great villains choose their opponents carefully. Something about you got their attention.
AMy manners, and everything I am careful not to say.
BThat I still believe people are basically decent.
CThat I am clever, and quietly enjoy proving it.
DThat I handle things myself, and always have.
02
How do they make first contact?The introduction tells you everything about what is coming next.
AA polite letter. Beautiful handwriting. Quietly wrong.
BSomething on fire, with a message left beside it.
CA puzzle, left where only I would look.
DNo contact. Just the aftermath, and a coin.
03
What do you actually believe about right and wrong?Every nemesis is really an argument about the thing you believe most.
AThere are lines. Mine are private and absolute.
BRules are the only thing keeping us from being animals.
CMorality is a system, and systems can be solved.
DThings happen. Most of it was never up to me.
04
What finally gets under your skin?Everybody has a pressure point. Finding yours is the whole plan.
ABeing seen clearly by somebody I cannot read.
BWatching good people do something ugly.
CLosing to someone who was simply better prepared.
DHaving no move left that changes anything.
05
They have made their move. How do you fight back?This is the part of the film where the audience finds out who you are.
ACarefully, and never where they expect to be touched.
BLoudly. I would rather lose than play their game.
CWith a better plan. I can out-think this.
DDirectly, once, with whatever is closest to hand.
06
What would they use against you?A good villain never brings a weapon you have not already handed them.
AMy privacy. I have kept far too much to myself.
BMy conscience. I will not cross the line they want.
CMy ego. I cannot resist a worthy opponent.
DMy certainty that I can handle it alone.
07
What do they actually want from you?The money is never the point. Something else always is.
ATo understand me better than anyone ever has.
BTo prove I am no better than they are.
CTo finally be beaten by someone worth the trouble.
DNothing at all. I stepped into the wrong path.
08
How does it end between the two of you?Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who comes for you.
AA conversation I will be replaying for years.
BA choice forced on me that has no clean answer.
COne final move, and the better mind wins.
DA coin in the air, and nothing I can say.
The Case File Is CompleteYour Nemesis Is…
Four criminal masterminds. One of them was always going to be yours.
Here is who comes for you, why they picked you out of everyone available, and what they want from
the encounter.
The Silence of the Lambs · Hannibal · 1991–2002
Hannibal Lecter
Your nemesis does not want to beat you. He wants to know you
completely, and he is patient enough to wait for it. The frightening part is how good the
conversation is.
- Lecter is the most dangerous kind of opponent: the one who finds you interesting. He
never raises his voice, because he has never needed to. - You keep a great deal to yourself and you are careful about what you show. That reserve
is exactly the door he would knock on. - The films understood something other thrillers missed. The horror is not the violence.
It is being perfectly understood by the wrong person. - He would be unfailingly polite about all of it. That is the worst part.
Batman · The Dark Knight · 1989–2019
The Joker
Your nemesis is not after money, territory or revenge. He is
after a demonstration, and you are the person he has chosen to prove his point on.
- The Joker only picks opponents who believe in something. Your decency is not a defence
against him. It is the entire reason he showed up. - He has no plan you can predict and nothing you can take away, which removes every tool
you would normally reach for. - His whole argument is that you are one bad day away from being him, and you would spend
the rest of your life proving him wrong. - He would call it a magic trick. You would call it the worst night of your life.
Sherlock Holmes · The Final Problem · Since 1893
Moriarty
Your nemesis respects you, which sounds flattering until you work
out what it means. He chose you because nobody else was worth his time.
- Moriarty is the original criminal mastermind, the template every later one borrows from:
a mind the equal of the hero’s, pointed the wrong way. - You enjoy being the cleverest person in the room. He is counting on exactly that, and he
has already built the room. - This is the rare nemesis who would be genuinely disappointed if you lost badly. He needs
the game to be worth playing. - It ends the way these things always end. Two people, one problem, and only one way down.
No Country for Old Men · 2007
Anton Chigurh
Your nemesis has no personal interest in you whatsoever, and that
is precisely what makes him unsurvivable. You are not a rival. You are a stop on the way.
- Chigurh does not negotiate, gloat or explain. He arrives, he asks one question, and the
answer was decided long before you opened your mouth. - You trust yourself to handle things. He is the one problem in the world that has no
interest in how capable you are. - No Country for Old Men rewrote the screen villain by removing the thing audiences
quietly rely on: the sense that talking might work. - Call it. He will wait.
This narrative shift also makes way for an unexpected dilemma that Ludwigis unlikely to explore (even if it should). With James out of the picture, and John playing house as his absent twin, the pair have undeniable chemistry, which is only emboldened by how well-suited they are as a crime-solving duo. While romantic overtures are rarely the focus of an ever-growing slate of cozy British mysteries, audiences can’t be faulted for wishing for a little brush of passion in the midst of government conspiracies and Midsomer Murders-esque deaths.
‘Ludwig’ Season 2 Is Another Winner for BritBox
Ludwig’s ensemble remains well-rounded in Season 2, with DCI Russell Carter (DipoOla) and Lucy’s son Henry (DylanHughes) getting more screentime and involvement in the central plotline, alongside Season 2 newcomers, newspaper editor Gareth Fisher (MarkBonnar), and DC Ethan Cole (BenAshenden) and DC Caitlin Sullivan (RumiSutton). Series creator and scribe MarkBrotherhood’s scripts are still top-notch, with smartly interwoven mysteries and deftly crafted character development.
Though there are plenty of mysteries and puzzles left to be solved, it is no mystery that Ludwigremains chart-topping entertainment. The best part of watching is not only the assurance that a third season is already on the way, but that in a few months, fans will be treated to one of the most age-old British traditions — a Christmas special to tide us over until the new year!
LudwigSeason 2 premieres October 13 on BritBox.
Ludwig
BritBox wins with another cozy mystery.
12
Mystery
Crime
DramaComedy
810
Release Date
September 25, 2024
Network
BBC One
Directors
Jill Robertson, Robert McKillop
David Mitchell
John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor / James Taylor
Anna Maxwell Martin
Lucy Betts-Taylor
- Anna Maxwell Martin shines as Lucy steps up into a savvy, full-fledged crime-solving partner.
- David Mitchell’s awkward charm remains central while the supporting cast gets deeper, more engaging screen time.
- The scripts expertly balance cozy, puzzle-focused weekly mysteries with higher-stakes overarching conspiracies.
