Anna Maxwell Martin and David Mitchell’s cosy detective series Ludwig is going to have some “brilliant” new characters in its long-awaited second season, according to one of its main stars.
Mitchell, of Peep Show fame, plays the titular character of John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, the “Elvis Presley of puzzle-setters”, who finds himself posing as his missing detective brother. It’s a wild idea, and one cooked up by John’s sister-in-law, Lucy (played by Martin).
The comedy-crime series was a big hit with audiences when it debuted in 2024, and the leading pair are obviously going to be back for the highly-anticipated return season. Well, it just wouldn’t be Ludwig without them.
But we do also know that there’s an exciting bunch of new faces joining the cast of the BBC show, including Mark Bonnar (from Line of Duty and Dept. Q, and more recently seen in the Celebrity Traitors’ castle), Sian Clifford (Fleabag), Ben Ashenden (Deep Cover) and Rumi Sutton (Daddy Issues).
And in a new interview with Radio Times, Mitchell has teased that we are set to see some exciting and “very funny characters” arriving in Ludwig season two.
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“They were brilliant, very funny,” he said of new additions Ashenden and Sutton, who are set to play roles in the drama’s police team. “They’re new characters, they’re very funny characters. They’ve got a great dynamic with each other, but overall the situation remains the same.”
As for Bonnar, Mitchell describes his character as a “sort of hilarious, hapless newspaper editor”, which is “a terrific role”. Meanwhile, the Ludwig star seemed hesitant to reveal too much about what’s in store for Clifford’s character, instead simply describing the role as “intriguing”, before adding: “It was brilliant to work with her, because I’ve admired her stuff for years.”
Ludwig was the BBC’s biggest scripted show of 2024, and became the biggest launch for a comedy since at least 2018 (according to the BBC). But the cosy crime show wasn’t only a hit with audiences, it received widespread critical acclaim too. The debut season currently sits with a near-perfect 97% Rotten Tomatoes score, and Digital Spy‘s own three-star review stated that it “could very well be the most fun you have watching TV this autumn.”
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The synopsis for Ludwig season two has revealed that Mitchell’s John is “now a Crime Scene Consultant working on ‘impossible’ crimes for the Cambridge Police Authority” and so is “no longer having to masquerade as his brother” and can be “more ‘Ludwig’ than ever – brilliant at solving puzzles, but hopeless at everything else.”
“But John’s identical twin brother, James, is still missing, and now that he’s an official employee of the station, John is forbidden from using any police resources to look for his brother or uncover exactly what he was investigating,” it adds.
But “John won’t stop and neither will Lucy”, and so “a puzzle needs solving and a husband and father needs bringing home. One masquerade may have ended, but a new one has just begun…”
Sounds like lots for fans to look forward to.
Ludwig is available to stream on BBC iPlayer, and season 2 is on the way.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK’s biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world’s oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).