SECOND SERIES OF LUDWIG LAUNCHES WITH OVER NINE MILLION VIEWERS CONSOLIDATED
The second series of Ludwig, the International Emmy Award-winning detective series starring David Mitchell, has once again captivated audiences, attracting 9.1 million viewers (28-day figure) for episode one. This makes it the biggest scripted launch of the year across broadcasters and streamers to date.
The smash hit series, created and written by Mark Brotherhood, produced by Big Talk Studios (part of ITV Studios) in collaboration with That Mitchell and Webb Company, in co-production with BritBox and ZDF, ended its second series six-part run on BBC One on Thursday 24 October.
The series continues to perform strongly on BBC iPlayer, where episode one has attracted 5.5 million making it the second biggest BBC iPlayer audience for the opening episode of a BBC comedy this year.
Starring alongside Mitchell as John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor in the series are Anna Maxwell Martin, Dipo Ola, Dylan Hughes, Dorothy Atkinson, Ralph Ineson, Karl Pilkington, Mark Bonnar, Sian Clifford, Ben Ashenden, and Rumi Sutton.
It was recently announced that Ludwig will return with a Christmas special this festive season guest starring Sir David Suchet and a host of familiar faces. Filming is also well underway on series three.
Kenton Allen, CEO Big Talk Studios, says: “Ludwig is a gloriously eccentric detective at the heart of a show that has never played by the usual rules, so to see more than nine million people embrace him is genuinely thrilling. Mark Brotherhood has created that rare thing: a clever, funny, warm-hearted show that audiences seem to have made part of their lives...
"David Mitchell is simply extraordinary in the role, and this result belongs to him, Mark Brotherhood, our wonderful cast and the brilliant team behind the camera. We’re hugely grateful to the BBC for backing Ludwig with such conviction — and, with a Christmas special on the way and series three already filming, we’re delighted that John’s particular brand of crime-solving is going to be confusing criminals, colleagues and himself for a while yet."
Gregor Sharp, BBC Commissioning Editor says: "We always felt there was something special about Ludwig, but the scale of the audience response has been extraordinary. Mark Brotherhood's brilliant scripts, David Mitchell's unforgettable performance and the fantastic work of the teams at Big Talk and That Mitchell and Webb Company have created a show that viewers have truly embraced. To see series two become the biggest scripted launch of the year is a remarkable achievement, and one we're hugely proud of."
Ludwig is a Big Talk Studios production in association with That Mitchell And Webb Company, in co-production with BritBox and ZDF, for the BBC.
