Luther, the BBC psychological crime drama, starring Idris Elba as a top police detective in London, drew a complaint from the broadcaster's diversity chief, who said "this doesn't feel authentic."
Miranda Wayland, speaking this week at the Digital MIPTV conference about the BBC's diversity and inclusion strategy, said the title character "doesn't have any Black friends, he doesn't eat any Caribbean food, this doesn't feel authentic," ET Canada reported.
Elba plays John Luther, a Detective Chief Inspector who frequently goes after serial killers and scheming, manipulative criminals. As a detective, Luther is intensely focused on the job, to the detriment of his personal life.
Wayland said, "It's great having those big landmark shows with those key characters, but it's about making sure everything around them, their environment, their culture, the set is absolutely reflective. It will be very much about how can we make sure that this program is authentic in terms of the storytelling."
A BBC spokesperson said it is "tremendously proud" of Luther, which debuted in 2010 and aired for five seasons until 2019. Luther has earned multiple award nominations and wins in the Critics' Choice, Golden Globe, Emmy, NAACP Image and Screen Actor's Guild awards. The BBC made a pledge in 2020 to require 20 percent of each show's production crew to be from diverse backgrounds, and will spend £112 million ($154.33 million) by 2024 in support of diverse productions.
Source: ET Canada
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