Luther

John Luther is unusually good at understanding dangerous people and much less successful at keeping that work contained. Luther puts Idris Elba at the centre of a London crime thriller whose cases regularly move towards horror.

Elba's presence is the main reason it works. Luther can dominate a room, but the forcefulness does not make his judgment dependable. The strain in his private life and the risks he takes professionally belong to the same character rather than two unrelated sets of problems.

The series is heightened and sometimes wildly implausible. Its villains are designed to unsettle, not to represent routine police work, and the escalating threats can test belief. The earlier run makes the strongest case for the combination of performance and dread.

Come for a forceful lead and disturbing suspense rather than procedural accuracy. Bosch is a better choice for patient detective work; True Detective also lets an investigation become an uncomfortable encounter with the person conducting it.