Neil Cross talks about Luther

While I was away overseas in Turkey and Greece, Wellington-based novelist and screenwriter Neil Cross won the prestigious Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America - the Oscar of the crime fiction world - for his teleplay for episode 1 of Luther, the acclaimed BBC TV series he created and wrote, starring Idris Elba of The Wire fame. Unfortunately it seems the New Zealand media haven't really picked up on or celebrated what is a fantastic accolade for Cross.

A second series of Luther will soon be shown in the Northern Hemisphere, and hopefully we will get it down here in New Zealand sooner rather than later. The first series screened earlier this year. I've embedded above a recent short interview with Cross about the Luther series, courtesy of the BBC and YouTube.

Luther seems to be one of those series that divides viewers - it has some ardent fans, and has got some fantastic reviews and accolades, but some viewers and reviewers just don't like it. Sometimes that is a sign of a really good series (ie not too mainstream), but I can't provide a personal comment as unfortunately I still haven't watched it - an oversight I hope to rectify via DVD in the very near future.