Ludwig: cast, plot, first look and everything you need to know about the detective comedy series (2024)

Ludwig is a comedy series on BBC1 featuring the comic talents of Upstart Crow star David Mitchell who is known for playing quirky characters, and does so again here. He plays as a solitary loner John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor who has to step into the shoes of his identical twin, DCI James Taylor, when he disappears off the face of the earth.

David Mitchell says: “I’m delighted to be working in a genre of television that I have loved ever since, at the age of 10, I started watching the Miss Marple adaptations, starring Joan Hickson, with my parents. Sometimes the only thing that can bring the whole family together is murder.”

John 'Ludiwg' Taylor is a quiet Luddite, who designs puzzles for a living under the pseudonym Ludwig. He doesn’t own a mobile phone, TV or computer, and barely steps out of his front door, but he makes the brave decision to assume his brother’s identity in order to track him down and bring him home. But given that his brother James is a successful cop, running Cambridge’s busy inner-city major crimes team, it might just prove to be the biggest puzzle John’s has ever faced.

Here’s everything you need to know about the BBC1 comedy series Ludwig…

Ludwig release date

Ludwig is a six-part comedy series that will premiere on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer some time in 2024. There’s no release date yet but we’ll update you as soon as we know when it’s due to hit our screens.Also we'll update with a US channel and International air date.

Ludwig plot

The story follows John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, a quiet man who’s never been married, never had a family and is quite content to lead a quiet life, designing puzzles under the pen name Ludwig. He refuses to engage in the latest technology and rarely leaves his home. But then, John’s identical twin, detective James Taylor, goes missing and John decides the best way to find him is to assume his identity. The problem is James is a DCI, with a crime-solving team of cops depending on him. John might be the master of all things cryptic but this might be the one puzzle he can’t solve.

Ludwig cast— David Mitchell as twins John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor and James

David Mitchell as John and his twin James, who is missing. David is well known for his comedy partnership with Robert Webb, which produced shows such as Peep Show, That Mitchell and Webb Look and The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb. He played William Shakespeare in the BBC2 comedy Upstart Crow and has also been in Back, Jam & Jerusalem, Blunder and Doctors and Nurses. David is team captain on the quiz show Would I Lie to You? and hosted David Mitchell’s Soap Box. He was a presenter on 10 O’Clock Live and Outsiders and a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

Who else is starring in Ludwig?

The remaining cast for Ludwig includes Line Of Duty star Anna Maxwell Martin who playsLcy Betts-Taylor who is John's sister-in-law and wife of his missing brother James. The cast also includes Izuke Hoyle (Boiling Point),Dipo Ola (Landscapers), Gerran Howell (Suspicion), Dylan Hughes and Dorothy Atkinson.

Is there a trailer for Ludwig?

There's no trailer for Ludwig yet, but when the BBC releases one, we’ll post it on this page.

Behind the scenes, filming news and more on Ludwig

Ludwig is a six-part series that began filmin gin early 2024. The comedy is a Big Talk Studios in association with That Mitchell And Webb Company production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. It was commissioned by Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy Commissioning at the BBC. The series is written and created by Mark Brotherhood. The Executive Producers are Kenton Allen, Mark Brotherhood, Saurabh Kakkar, David Mitchell, Kathryn O’Connor and Chris Sussman, the Producer is Georgie Fallon. The Directors are Robert McKillop and Jill Robertson. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Tanya Qureshi. It is produced in association with ITV Studios, which will distribute the series internationally.