The other day I found myself curious as to what the actor and presenter David Mitchell had been up to since the ending of the UK's much loved comedy series Peep Show. The show gave a really funny and accurate look into what it meant to be British in the early 2000s, with the anxiety of the modern era was presented alongside the rapidly changing expectations of society. The show utilised two main characters that were polar opposites of each other but both managed to find solace in each other's lost feelings about the world. It has been hailed as one of the the main shows that accurately depicts the British culture and how it feels to be growing up in the nation. It is a show I often think about, one that I always want to revisit and always find myself referencing. David Mitchell's writing as well as performance was universally loved, and it was clear that the comedian was great at what he did, particularly with his presence in English game shows around the same time that Peep Show was airing. Albeit a bit nostalgic, my search into his continued career was led in hopes of finding something new, another hit. And Ludwig seems like something that briefly follows up on his ability to convey odd humour and awkward characters into a setting a little more serious. While Peep Show focused on life's many unexpected outcomes, it was still a dark comedy show. Whereas Ludwig feels like it's at its core a detective series with comedic elements sprinkled in.
Ludwig is much like many of the other detective series that have been released under the BBC brand over the years. Many have been more serious than others, and this is one of the more rare few in the modern day that contain a great quality in its budget. And it's not something that seems all that familiar to the rest: our protagonist is a bit of a lonely person, one that is middle-aged and doesn't have a family still, though his friends are mostly from his brother's side. He spends most of his time inside as a puzzle creator, to which out of the blue he receives a phone call from his brother's wife stating that she's booked a taxi all the way to Cambridge, England and that she refuses to explain as to why he needs to get that taxi and head over there; knowing that he likely wouldn't accept if he had known everything beforehand. This pulls him directly out of his comfort zone and back into the past, and that's where much of the show lives with it constantly revisiting Ludwig's childhood and what led to him becoming a bit more recluse. The story behind the sudden request is that his brother, who is pretty much his identical twin, has left behind a cryptic note that explains his sudden disappearance and how his wife must take herself and their son somewhere else. This naturally causes some questions to arise for the wife, to which she immediately calls his brother Ludwig with a plan to infiltrate the police where he works and find some files.
With Ludwig being identical to his brother, he seems the mystery in the disappearance of his brother and sees how dangerous it all is, but that mystery is precisely what pulls him in. As a puzzle creator, he sees a puzzle at hand that begs to be solved, and he's aware that he can do it. By infiltrating the police, the show instead takes a turn where he effectively takes over his brother's life by fooling those around him. Becoming a detective that solves murders during the day while also attempting to find information that could lead to more answers regarding his brother's disappearance. With Ludwig being the total opposite of his brother, it leads to comedic moments that show his poor social skills as he attempts to look normal. While struggling to look normal, he instead manages to showcase an impressive number of skills in logical reasoning and problem solving due to his puzzle creating and solving background, leading to him being a great strength on the force during his days out trying to solve various murders. These murders are one per episode, each a different location and story, and while they take up much of the episode, a lot of them feature elements that remind Ludwig of his childhood and present. There's a lot of sadness to the Ludwig character that opens the door for plenty of character development, especially as he's thrown out of his comfort zone. I quite like the structure of it so far, with Ludwig not being one to brag or have any major features to his character, yet manages to easily solve crimes around him without even really considering the motive.
Between the crime solving, Ludwig is also trying to gather more information about those at the police station, it's clear that there was something that took place there that led to his brother's disappearance. Nobody knows about that disappearance though, with Ludwig appearing as him. There's a big, much greater mystery at hand that is slowly addressed throughout the episodes, and it's so gently sprinkled in that sometimes it becomes a bit of an after thought to us as the audience. But I don't mind this at all. It shows how Ludwig has been thrown into a world he has no power over, and how uncomfortable it makes him. It's great character development that sees him slowly learning with each new day that comes, slowly trying to figure out the people around him and gather more knowledge about them, all while trying to remain out of view over who he really is. In terms of the production, it's shot with some really beautiful lighting and cinematography to it. Not always super creative, but it's cinematic and has a great quality to it. I really like the use of lighting in the show, from interiors to exteriors. Especially alongside what looks like vintage glass for the lenses. Really oval bokeh in the backgrounds, everything quite blue and smooth. It's a really nice looking show so far.
I'm curious as to where it's heading from here on. I have seen that there is a second season that was announced, though I'm not sure when that's coming. With six episodes in the first season (much like most British series that often feature few seasons and few episodes) I think I'll get through it quite quickly, though I know not to expect major plot resolutions just yet.
You got me at him being identical and then I saw that it was also cinematic. That sounds like a lot of fun going on in there. This review was also fun to read actually. Great job!