Ratings: ‘Luther’ season 4 off to lower start in the UK

While we may know some official ratings for “Luther” season 4 in America a little bit later in the day, we can say now that we are a little bit surprised with the numbers on the UK.

Despite the extremely high quality of the series and its star Idris Elba, the first in a two-part special (which aired in full on BBC America last night) drew in its home country just under 5 million viewers. This is a lower total than the season 3 premiere years ago, and we assumed that with such a long layover, more people would get hooked on the show … especially with Idris Elba on the rise as one of the biggest stars in entertainment.

This rating is slightly higher than the recent ninth season of “Doctor Who” by and large, but it does not come close to challenging many of the BBC’s biggest scripted hits like “Call the Midwife” and “Poldark.” Also, it is lower than the titan on ITV otherwise known as “Downton Abbey.”

Of course, the irony here is that on American TV everything is so much more compartmentalized. If this show ended up drawing a rating that is even remotely close to this on BBC America, executives would be dancing up and down with delight and they’d consider it to be the greatest Christmas present of all time. It’s just so much harder to get attention for your work on this side of the pond with so many other shows on the air.

We’ll have more on the “Luther” franchise soon; stay tuned!

If you do find yourselves interested in more “Luther” coverage, head over here to read our review of the first part of the season! Also, sign up over here to get some other TV news on everything we cover (including some exclusive teasers) via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: BBC.)