A new BBC series starring David Mitchell has been described as watching ‘Mark from Peep Show as a police officer’ – in a good way.
Ludwig is the new crime series from the BBC, and stars Mitchell as John, an introverted, awkward puzzle setter who gets drawn into the disappearance of his detective twin brother James.
The six-part drama follows him and his sister-in-law Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin) as John poses as his brother and infiltrates the police station where he works to try and find clues about what James was working on.
And if you’ve read that thinking that this was a role that TV’s most hilariously awkward man was born to play, then it sounds like you’d be right.
Reviews for the show have praised Mitchell’s performance, with some saying it is like watching his most famous character, Mark Corrigan from Peep Show, as a police officer.
In a positive three-star review, the Guardian’s Lucy Mangan said Mitchell is “as brilliantly awkward as ever” playing the “part he was born to play.” She described the whole series as “enjoyably gentle case-of-the-week TV.”
Meanwhile, Ruth Lawes of the Metro gave the series a four-and-a-half star rating, saying the BBC has found its “new Jonathan Creek” with the “unmissable murder mystery.”
Praising the performances in the show, Lawes writes: “Ludwig is also packed with excellent performances. David Mitchell is certainly not reinventing the wheel, and is playing, well, David Mitchell, but no one else could play John better. What other actor would be able to express quiet discontent with such panache?”
Meanwhile, Louis Chilton of the Independent said there is an “undeniable affability to Mitchell as a performer” in another three-star review, although he added there was “something missing” from his character, which doesn’t quote have the “subtle nastiness” of some of Mitchell’s previous roles.
All episode of Ludwig are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.