For whatever the reason, many Brits came late to The Wire party. The superior US drama from HBO first washed up on our shores on the then fledgling digital channel FX. The first series was possibly viewed by no more than five people at the time, but every one of them loved it. Fast forward many, many years and the show was re-shown on the BBC albeit in a hideous, middle of the night timeslot.

Everyone who watched it(about a further ten folk) though knew it was something special. What many of us didn’t know at the time however was that two of the most dynamic roles in the show were filled by Brits. The hard-drinking detective jimmy McNulty was played by Dominic West, and one of his foes the Baltimore gang member Stringer Bell, played by Idris Elba.

The show quite rightly made the pair fairly well known names stateside, and yet they still remain relative unknowns here on home soil. For Elba at least, taking the starring role in this BBC drama puts that particular wrong to right.

Set in a busy London police station, John Luther (Elba) is one of the force’s finest detectives. One particular case however has put his work ethics under serious scrutiny. In the first episode we find him hunting down a serial killer, who he actually catches – literally, as he holds onto him above a gaping abyss. He falls. But did he really fall, or did Luther simply let go? The killer didn’t die however, although he did fall again, this time into a coma. Luther can’t be charged with anything – as yet- so he is eventually allowed to return to work. His mental state however is called into question from the powers that be and his comeback is certainly monitored.

As well as taking on the increasing pressures from work, Luther is also struggling to cope with the fact that his wife Zoe (Indira Varma) can now be found in the arms of another man (Paul McGann). For the most part, he does try to keep his personal life out of his work, but as time goes on the line between the two begins to blur.

I'm sorry, but I appear to have lost an actor. He's about this high, have you seen him?

The six part series was the brainchild of writer Neil Cross, who really hit the target with his first major TV drama. It takes some getting used to though; the first episode has to work extremely hard not only setting up the scene, but in also fleshing out the characters. You could quite easily dismiss it as an average cop drama, but that would certainly be doing the rest of the series a huge disservice.

Where it seemingly starts off with individual storylines, you soon realise by the second episode that there’s some serious overlapping along the way. This is nowhere more evident than with his ongoing relationship with Alice (Ruth Wilson), who he investigates for the murder of her parents. It soon becomes transparent though that Alice eerily moves from suspect to ally.

What hits you first about this series is that it’s a proper drama for grown-ups. It not only deals with the darker side of crime and criminality, but it also highlights their influence on the relationships of those involved in them, on both sides of the law.

And then there’s Luther himself. Elba delivers an incredible performance as he manages to maintain all of Luther’s rough edges intact. The character is a fine cop but a flawed individual. This thankfully doesn’t manifest itself in clichéd problems such as alcohol etc. Instead they surface as emotional traits that Luther is constantly battling with.

And although Elba is a huge draw, he has quite a remarkable supporting cast. Special mentions should go to Wilson’s vibrantly demented Alice, and Steven Mackintosh as Luther’s copper pal and colleague Ian Reed. The only real distraction is Saskia Reeves as their boss Rose Teller; it’s not clear what’s quite going on with her accent, but it’s clear she watched too much of The Sweeney and The Bill in preparation for her role.

The only real downside is that there are only six episodes. So just prepare yourself for quite a ride, particularly towards the show’s finale, as you probably won’t see a more gripping hour or so of TV. In fact the series is, without question, the best new drama to surface this year.

If you’re a fan of Elba, you won’t be disappointed. And if you’re a fan of cops on the box, Luther is most definitely your man.