Ludwig - Season 1

Humor is the basis of Ludwig. This British crime series is one with a big wink. Ludwig is the pseudonym of John Taylor. John designs (word) puzzles, is a maverick, smart and confined to his house. When his identical twin brother James disappears, John starts investigating. He does this mainly because Lucy, James' wife, encourages him to do so. Lucy touches a sensitive chord with John, which makes him dare and capable of doing just a little more than he often thinks. His nephew Henry has unparalleled talents to help in the case.



The big question is why James disappeared. It soon turns out to have something to do with James' work. He is a police officer and one of his cases seems to have aroused powerful opponents. It is even questionable whether his colleagues are reliable. To find out, John is sent to the police station as James to gather information. Since John looks exactly like James, no one will notice. As long as John goes in and out of the police station, that is. John's special character does not exactly resemble his twin brother. Unfortunately, the plan does not work and John is sent out with his (new) colleagues to solve a murder. Then it turns out that John's gift is a gift.

Ludwig is fun and exciting at the same time.

Central to this story is the acting of David Mitchell. The clumsy John is played by him with verve. The parking errors, the textual misunderstandings and the alienation make John a special phenomenon. His colleagues at the police station are initially surprised by the strange behavior of, in their eyes, James. However, when this leads to results, the suspicion quickly disappears. The mutual tension between Lucy (an excellent role by Anna Maxwell Martin who also played so wonderfully in Until I Kill You) and John provides an extra dimension. Lucy is also a go-getter who does everything she can to find out where her husband has gone. When John seems to get closer to the truth, his safety is also no longer certain.



Ludwig is a typical British dramedy. It has a certain tension but always in the knowledge that John will rescue himself from it clumsily and cleverly at the same time. He solves the most difficult cases in an unprecedented way. On the other hand, he is not at his best socially. It results in the most painful situations. These are often remedied by his colleague Russell Carter (Dipo Ola).

The visuals are comparable to any other crime series. The acting is excellent. The advantage is that it can sometimes be quite over the top. In putting together the cast, they succeeded in finding the right actors for this. Ludwig is fun and exciting at the same time. The next season has already been announced. I am looking forward to it in any case.