{alltv} 'Luther' a smart TV thriller

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This may sound weird, but it wouldn't be a chore to watch Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson try to get into each other's heads all day.

The intensity the two of them have as actors grandly elevates Luther, the six-part British TV series that begins airing across Canada on Showcase on Friday.

Luther is a psychological crime thriller starring Elba (The Office, The Big C, The Wire) as a brilliant but volatile London police detective named John Luther. As the series begins, we see the traumatic event that causes John to suffer a mental breakdown, before flashing forward seven months to when he returns to active duty.

The focus of his first case back is a suspect named Alice Morgan, played by Wilson (The Prisoner, Jane Eyre). Alice's brilliance and icy demeanour either is the best thing or the worst thing for John's shaky emotional state.

John becomes fascinated with Alice, but is the fascination genuine on a personal or sexual level, or is he just trying to get close to her so he can catch her if she slips up?

"I mean, I think the fact that you are asking the question means I clearly can't tell you too much more," Elba sad. "But, you know, that's a great question in terms of, what is Luther's motivation with this relationship?

"That starts to reveal itself as it plays out, which then reveals a lot about who Luther is toward the end. So it's a great question, but I can't answer it, I'm afraid."

In other words, viewers are supposed to be asking that question.

"Yeah, yeah," Elba said.

As for Wilson, she was reminded of an Academy Award-winning movie when she first read the script for Luther.

"It did resonate with me as a piece a bit similar to Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling (in Silence of the Lambs), except it's the other way around (in terms of gender)," Wilson said. "So that really appealed to me. Certainly for a female role, you don't get many of those.

"But the relationship develops and it becomes a game of cat-and-mouse between them. They realize they have an intellectual interest in each other as well as a sexual chemistry, so it's a really interesting dynamic."

There certainly is something about Wilson's striking eyes that both attract and terrify at the same time.

"My parents can tell you about the eyes," Wilson said. "But often when the camera comes very close, you just have to think about something and the camera will pick it up. If you think the thoughts, they'll be seen on the screen."

Such a wise, subtle approach is typical of what makes Luther compelling.

John and Alice push each other's buttons, revealing both their sublime commitment to their respective causes and their mutual self-destructive tendencies.

"No, I don't think (John) wants to die, but I don't think he wants to live with, you know, injustice," Elba said.

"I know that sounds really corny."

Luckily, Luther is not.