David Mitchell’s ‘Ludwig’ Returns in First Look Season 2 (Exclusive)

Everyone’s favorite puzzler-turned-detective is back in the throes of Cambridge’s major crimes team, and The Hollywood Reporter has the first look.

Britain’s beloved actor-comedian David Mitchell, who spoke to THR about bringing the series to the U.S., returns to Ludwig later this year with co-stars Anna Maxwell Martin, Ralph Ineson, Dylan Hughes, Dipo Ola, and Dorothy Atkinson all featuring in the photos released to THR on Wednesday.

Joining them for season two of the BBC–BritBox hit is Fleabag‘s Sian Clifford as local MP Joanna Kemper, and Dept. Q‘s Mark Bonnar as newspaper editor Gareth Fisher. The duo is photographed in their new roles below.

Ben Ashenden (Black Mirror) has also joined the cast as DC Ethan Cole, alongside Rumi Sutton (After the Flood) as DC Caitlin Sullivan. Karl Pilkington reprises his role as DCI Matt Neville.

The first installment of Ludwig, created and written by Mark Brotherhood, followed the Peep Show star as professional puzzler Taylor, whose identical twin brother James mysteriously vanishes. After John was coaxed into taking on his brother’s identity to uncover the truth behind his disappearance, his uneventful life designing puzzles and avoiding the outside world was forced to take a backseat as he imitated James, who happens to be a high-flying detective leading a major crimes team.

Picking up from the end of season one, John is now a Crime Scene Consultant, working alongside DCI Russell Carter (Ola), on “impossible” crimes for the Cambridge Police Authority. “No longer having to masquerade as his brother, he’s openly more ‘Ludwig’ than ever — brilliant at solving puzzles but hopeless at everything else,” reads a plot synopsis.

“But John’s identical twin brother, James, is still missing, and now that he’s an official employee of the station, John is forbidden from using any police resources to look for his brother or uncover exactly what he was investigating,” it continues. “Of course, John won’t stop and neither will Lucy (Maxwell Martin), John’s sister-in-law and wife of his missing brother James. A puzzle needs solving and a husband and father needs bringing home. One masquerade may have ended, but a new one has just begun.”

Produced by Big Talk Studios (part of ITV Studios), in collaboration with That Mitchell & Webb Company, Ludwig premiered to widespread acclaim in Britain. It was the BBC’s biggest scripted show of 2024, racking up over 9.5 million viewers in its first month before it hit BritBox in the U.S, where it became the platform’s biggest scripted series launch to date.

“After the phenomenal success of series one, we’re incredibly excited to bring Ludwig back for audiences around the world,” executive producer Kenton Allen tells THR. “It was a true breakout show… a phenomenon that has delivered exceptional global sales. David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin have created something genuinely special at the centre of it: A detective series that feels wholly original, wildly entertaining, and unmistakably authored.”

“Mark Brotherhood has once again delivered a terrific new set of puzzling murders,” he continued, “and we’re delighted to be expanding the world with the addition of the brilliant Mark Bonnar and Sian Clifford, alongside the hugely talented Ben Ashenden and Rumi Sutton, who all bring real spark and jeopardy to this next chapter. Ludwig has become exactly the kind of premium returning franchise Big Talk Studios excel at and every network hopes for, and we’re thrilled to be building on that momentum with these fabulous new cast members.”

The first season of Ludwig is available to stream on BritBox.