This document provides production details for Series 3 Episode 1 of the BBC crime drama Luther. It was produced by the BBC and aired in July 2013. The creator was Neil Cross and it was influenced by Sherlock Holmes and Columbo detective formats. Though the exact budget per episode is unknown, the BBC is able to produce more drama content than Netflix for comparable budgets. Luther was promoted through social media, targeting ethnic minority audiences. The show and lead actor Idris Elba were very popular both in the UK and abroad, and there have been discussions of a feature film adaptation in the future.

1. Series 3 Episode 1

2. Production
Creator: Neil Cross (Spooks & Doctor Who)
Production Company: BBC (and BBC America Series
3 & 4)
Producer: Kate Swinden
Director: Sam Miller
Distributed by BBC Worldwide
4 Episodes per series

3. BBC One
• Tuesday 2nd July 3013 – 23rd July 2013
• Aired at 9pm – Watershed
• PSB requirement
• Regulated by OFCOM
• Also available on iPlayer for 3 weeks after
broadcast

4. Production
• Creator Neil Cross has said that Luther is
influenced by both Sherlock Holmes and
Columbo; the nature of Luther's intellect and
its application to solving crimes is comparable
to Holmes', whereas the show's use of the
inverted detective format was inspired by
Columbo

6. Budget (medium range)
Although the budget per episode is unknown – we
can make comparisons to other successful drams:
• The BBC delivers more drama with less money
than Netflix:
• For the value of 2 series (22 hours) of House of
Cards, British audiences got 14 series and nearly
80 hours of drama; from Luther to Crimson Field,
from Call the Midwife to The Fall, from Sherlock
to Burton and Taylor.

7. Budget (comparison)

8. Distribution
• For the BBC One detective show Luther, the marketing
team used social media to promote the lead character, who
happened to be black, to ethnic minority audiences as well
as the overall British population.
• The marketers worked with the programme makers to
create some extra show content that they could put out on
Facebook, while Idris Alba – the actor who played Luther
and who had previously starred in hit US show The Wire –
promoted the show himself through Twitter.
• https://www.marketingweek.com/2012/06/27/branding-
the-bbc/

9. Fragmentation
• Justin Bairamian, director of creative marketing at the
BBC, says: “Audiences are consuming us in a more
fragmented way than in previous generations. We have
to help them join the dots and show them the full
breadth of what we have on offer.”
• This fragmentation of consumption has been a driving
force behind how the BBC has structured its content
promotion and the marketing teams themselves. With
access to the BBC available through television, radio,
websites or online catch-up service iPlayer, Bairamian
says the BBC’s creative marketing teams now work
across the organisation rather than by channel or
division.

10. The Independent online news
Sherlock and Luther lead British TV invasion of Sub-Saharan Africa
The region has become one of the fastest growing buyers of UK-produced television programmes
Industry – Distribution
ABOUT US
BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and a
wholly owned subsidiary of the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The business
exists to support the BBC public service mission
and to maximise profits on its behalf.
We do this through investing in, commercialising
and showcasing content from the BBC around the
world, in a way that is consistent with BBC
standards and values.
We also build the reach and reputation of the BBC
brand overseas and champion British creativity.
“British crime drama is hugely
popular around the world and
accounts for over 40% of our
drama revenue. Showcase is the
perfect opportunity to celebrate
the range and quality of our crime
slate in the company of some of
the world’s most watched heroes
and villains.”
Paul Dempsey, President
Global Markets, BBC
Worldwide

11. Traditional
• Official Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5yY7MOUKIs

12. Industry - Marketing & Promotion BBC Branding
Branding the BBC
Senior executives from the Marketing Week Engage Awards 2012 Brand
of the Year talk to Ruth Mortimer about how the BBC overcame huge
budget cuts by restructuring its entire marketing operation and focusing
on the masterbrand and cross-promotion
While Normoyle acknowledges that creating material such as trailers
or posters for its content is a marketer’s “bread and butter”, she is
keen to move away from BBC marketers being seen as the ad people
towards a more business-focused approach.
As well as working across multiple parts of the BBC, the marketing
teams are also using a wider range of media to promote it than ever
before. In addition to the BBC’s own TV channels, radio stations and
websites, it now regularly uses social media to draw in audiences.
Jess Finning, brand marketing manager for BBC One and drama,
explains: “It’s important to get audiences to continue the conversation
in their own forums.”

13. For the BBC One detective show Luther, the
marketing team used social media to promote
the lead character, who happened to be
black, to ethnic minority audiences as well as
the overall British population.
The marketers worked with the programme
makers to create some extra show content
that they could put out on Facebook, while
Idris Alba – the actor who played Luther and
who had previously starred in hit US show
The Wire – promoted the show himself
through Twitter.
Normoyle believes that the social media
activity was responsible for encouraging a
“way above average” ethnic minority
audience to watch the show.
How and why are the
BBC using this strategy?

14. The big story about marketing at the BBC has been how we have focused; we
don’t stand for absolutely everything,” says BBC director-general Mark
Thompson. “The need to make savings really concentrates your mind. It has
helped us concentrate on what matters most and then marketing that to the
public.”
Back in 2010, it was decided that the corporation’s sole source of funding – the
licence fee – would be frozen until 2017, resulting in 20% spending cuts across
the organisation, with the marketing department asked to save 25%.
While many brands would have struggled to deal with such financial
restrictions, the BBC has restructured its entire marketing operations over the
last 18 months to be more efficient with less cost. Rather than simply
promoting individual TV and radio programmes, channels and websites, it has
pulled together its marketing output into packages with overarching messages
about the core principles that drive the BBC.
Departing director of marketing and audiences Helen Normoyle, who has
overseen the BBC’s marketing over the last 18 months, explains the thinking
behind the new strategy. She says: “A lot of our marketing will always be
promoting individual programmes, so we can ensure people know about all the
services they can get from the BBC and where to find them.

15. DCI Crime Board
Series 3 Trailer
BBC Media Pack
BBC Online fan resources

16. Released in August 2011
(after Series 2)
Sue Turnbull of The Age describes the
book as providing "some clever but
uncomfortable reading". She concludes
by comparing the novel to the
television series stating "What this
book offers is bleaker, more
confronting and, well, terrifying. Be
prepared".
Rob Farquhar of the Carins Post
commended Neil Cross on the creation
of DCI John Luther describing Luther as
a man "possessed of brilliance and by
an animal ferocity that he keeps from
all but the monsters he seeks out". He
concluded by stating fans of the "TV
series will love this".
In 2012, Luther: The Calling won the
Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime
Novel

17. Digital media
• Teaser snippet – released on 23rd June:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZK8VLZz
t4c
• Interactive Trailer:
http://creative.wirewax.com/luther.php

18. Digital media

19. Series 2 & 3 Graphic Novel

20. bbc.co.uk/
luther

21. @bbcluther

22. OST
Paul Englishby composed
Luther's soundtrack. He
incorporated many pop and
rock songs into the
soundtrack, using these
generally in the end credits.
A CD titled Luther - Songs
and Score From Series 1, 2
and 3 was released on 19
August 2013 and contains
many of the themes and
songs used in the television
series

23. Released: 29 July 2013

24. Fan Made (Prosumers)

25. Synergy

26. IdrisElba-StarImage
-Film

27. TV Credits

28. RuthWilson

29. Series Broadcast dates

30. Viewing figures (live not including
iPlayer or streamed views)
• Series 1: Episode 1: 6.35 million
• Series 2: Episode 1: 6.49 million
• Series 3: Episode 1: 6.43 million
• Series 4: Episode 1: 6.71 million
(Source: BARB.co.uk)

31. BBC America
3rd September 2013 10/9c
Due to BBC America involving themselves in the
production of Luther, BBC America aired all four
episodes of series three on consecutive nights,
as if the show was a miniseries.
This raised the profile massively in the States
with Fox claiming the rights to make a ‘remake’.

32. BBC America (Anglophenia)
• Oooh, we’re getting closer.
(BBC1) Luther returns to
BBC America as a four-night
mini series, September 3-6,
2013 at 10pm Eastern. Idris
Elba (Pacific Rim, Thor)
returns to the title role, as
DCI John Luther, which won
him a 2012 Golden
Globe for “Best Actor”.

33. Fox Remake
• Although Neil Cross was happy to write the re-
write screenplays, Idris Elba was came on
board but only as an exectutive producer.
• This meant Fox had to find a replacement.
They couldn’t. It was announced on 6th March
that the remake was to be ‘shelved’.

34. Film
• After Series 3 aired, Idris Elba and others
involved in the production claimed there
would be a feature length film version of the
Crime Drama. This has yet to be made, yet
Idris Elba

35. Intended Productions
• In 2011, Idris Elba expressed his enthusiasm for making
a film adaptation of the show, saying, "That's where
the ultimate Luther story will unfold, is in the big silver
screen — London as a huge backdrop and a very
menacing, horrible character to play against.”
• During a BBC Radio 4 interview in March 2012, co-
creator Neil Cross revealed that plans were being made
for a Luther film that would begin production at the
conclusion of the third series, the show's last.
• In May 2012, Elba stated in an interview that the third
series would serve as the lead-in for the planned film.
• Neil Cross previously had confirmed there would not
be a fourth series but did not rule out the possibility of
a feature film.

36. BBC News: 22nd March
• BBC Drama Luther 'to move from TV to film'
• The BBC psychological crime show Luther been named best
drama series at the Royal Television Society awards.
• Now its writer, Neil Cross, is hoping success on the small
screen will be repeated by a novel based on murder
detective John Luther's exploits, named The Calling.
• Speaking to Radio 4's Front Row, he explained how he had
came up with the name for the character, played by Idris
Elba.
• Mr Cross also revealed that the TV series will be wrapped
up but will then probably "make the leap to the big screen".

37. Spin off - series
• In September 2012, Cross announced that he
was in the process of creating a spin-off of
Luther centred around the character Alice
Morgan, starring Ruth Wilson. Cross stated,
"The BBC is very interested in the project. The
only real question would be how many and
how often we would do it - whether it would
be a one-off miniseries or a returning
miniseries, a co-production or not.”

38. Global Appeal
• The first series of the show premiered in Australia on ABC1 on 15
October 2010 and in the United States on BBC America two days
later.
• It was also broadcast in Germany (Series 1: September/October
2011; Series 2: March 2012) where it was dubbed and cut, in France
on Canal+ and in Poland on Ale Kino+ channel.
• The second series debuted in the United States on BBC America on
29 September 2011 and Australia on ABC1 on 24 February 2012.
The third series ran in the United States on BBC America on four
consecutive nights beginning 3 September 2013.
• The show is available on Netflix in Argentina, Australia, Austria,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK,
and the USA.

40. US Viewing figures
• Idris Elba returned as Detective Inspector John Luther to BBC
America on Tuesday and drew 206,000 viewers.
• That’s up from the 168,000 that Luther‘s Season 2 debut pulled in
on September 28, 2011,
• The best Tuesday drama debut in the cable network’s 15-year
history, the Season 3 U.S. premiere of the show was also just
slightly ahead of the 205,000 viewers that Season 2 of Luther pulled
in when Live+7 was added.
• This week’s debut received 90,000 viewers among the adults 25-54
demo.
• These numbers are all well below what the Emmy-nominated series
garnered in the UK.
http://deadline.com/2013/09/bbc-americas-luther-season-3-
premiere-up-from-season-2-debut-577795/

41. Critical Acclaim

42. Think of as many different audience
groups as you can who might enjoy
Luther
Apply audience concepts:
• Primary/secondary
• Demographics
• Socio-economics
• Uses and Gratifications etc
• Preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings
What aspects or elements of the series might be
appealing to each audience group you identify?

43. Audience debate:
NEWSWEEK OPINION:
• WHY TV SHOWS LIKE 'GAME OF THRONES'
AND 'LUTHER' NORMALIZE VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN
• http://www.newsweek.com/game-thrones-
luther-fall-violence-women-female-
representation-female-513408

44. Regulation
• PSB
• OFCOM
• DVD – rated by BBFC as a 15 Certificate
‘Contains strong violence and grisly images’

45. Regulation
• Remember that the BBC is a PSB (Public
Service Broadcaster).
• Consider the importance of Luther being
broadcast on the BBC at 9pm.
• Consider PSB requirements and regulatory
body OFCOM (Office of Communications)

46. Industry - Regulation
The 9pm Watershed in television
• In the UK, the BBC has a well-established policy of making 9pm the pivotal point of
the evening's television, a Watershed before which, except in exceptional
circumstances, all programmes on our domestic channels should be suitable for a
general audience including children.
• The Watershed reminds broadcasters that particular care should be taken over
inclusion of explicit scenes of sex and violence, and the use of strong language.
• Particular care should also be taken in the period immediately after the
Watershed.
• There should be a gradual transition towards more adult material and sudden
changes in tone should be avoided but, where unavoidable, they must be clearly
signposted. Adult material should never be positioned close to the Watershed
simply to attract audiences in a sensationalist way.
• Material which is particularly adult in tone should be scheduled at an appropriate
time, where necessary sometime after the Watershed.
The post Watershed period runs from 2100 until 05:30 the following morning.

47. Eight of the finest reasons why Volvo-driving, moody b****** Luther helps make BBC
favourite TV's slickest crime drama
Third and final series of cop thriller begins tonight - and this is why you should be watching
The Daily Mirror review
Luther recap: series three, episode one
With both a particularly twisted murderer to catch and a colleague who will stop at nothing to
destroy his career, the brooding detective had plenty to get his teeth into The Guardian review
Huffington Post review
‘Luther’ Series 3 Episode 1 Review: Unbearable Tension, And That’s Just Idris Elba And Warren
Brown...
Audience responses
IMDB Luther User reviews
List some positive and
the negative statements
from each review

48. Audience/Users
Targeting –
consider how media industries target audiences through
stereotyping, scheduling and profiling (200 words).
How is social media and internet tagging becoming an important
part of targeting (200 words)?
Responses –
How do your texts use the internet to involve their audience e.g.
interactivity, phone-ins, Twitter, etc.? (200 words)
Apply Uses and Gratifications Theory to your text – what will
your texts provide for viewers? (250-300 words)
Consider how gender plays a part in audience responses. (200-
250 words)

49. Positioning –
how does your text position its audience? Is there always
agreement? Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory is vital here. Write
50-75 words on how your text positions its audience.
Debates –
You need to be aware of current media debates : freedom of
choice vs. censorship; moral panics; two-step flow theory, as
opposed to the hypodermic syringe theory; the new wave of
Feminism and the relevance of the Male Gaze; political bias,
propaganda; recent events involving spying and the internet.
Write 50 words explaining each one. Can you identify any
more?