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Must Watch reviews: Ludwig

Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.

This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan Adrian Chiles to review ‘Ludwig’.

Ludwig, starring David Mitchell as a reclusive puzzle-setter who assumes his twin brother James's identity after he goes missing, in order to track him down.

This means he has to adapt to James's life as a highly respected DCI within Cambridge's busy Major Investigations Team and ends up solving some crimes along the way.

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Ludwig Trailer (short)

Accidental detective John 'Ludwig' Taylor is trying to find his missing brother

Adrian: “So, Scott, does this clear the Must Watch bar?”

The concept of this is daft and completely unbelievable

Scott: “I wouldn’t say this is a Must Watch, I would say it’s a good watch, we are allowed to say that now.

“The concept of this is daft and completely unbelievable. You have a puzzle setter who has been able to come up with and solve puzzles in seconds.

“He has a twin brother played by James Mitchell who is a DCI and then disappears. His wife Lucy is played by Anna Maxwell Martin who is a fantastic comic actor.

"She thinks the right way to find out where he is, is essentially for twin brother John to pretend to be his brother at work.

“So, he goes and gets his notepad, he turns up at work and low and behold he is thrown into a case because he can’t it that he is not a police detective and he is his twin brother.

“That is the concept, as ludicrous as that. I have to say it kind of works because it is ludicrous, and it does not take itself too seriously. A lot of it is down to comedy when you are a police detective, when you have no police detective experience.”

Scott: “So you turn up at a crime scene and you want to throw up because you’re seeing a dead body on the floor.

“Everyone else is taking it seriously, particularly when someone says, “this is a big, Netflix six-part series”. It is also the way it ends up spinning, because John is incredibly smart at puzzles, he realises these cases are a bit like a puzzle.

“At parts it feels like you’re watching a connector. It feels like a logical puzzle that he is trying to do. One later in the series is apparently like an elaborate game of spot the difference.

“Not sure how that will work as a TV show, but I like the ingenuity, it is doing something a little bit different.

“It is a little offbeat a bit like ‘Only Murders in the Building’ is, which is that sublimely hugely successful Disney+ series. Which has that similar style of tone.”

Scott: “I think why this might not work for some people. Firstly it works because it is BBC One prime time, it knows what it is very well.

I don’t massively like it but there are moments I enjoyed

“But I could not work out the case in episode one at all as a viewer and I think they may have missed a trick there as it went completely over our heads.

“I do like, however, how they are trying to do something a little bit different. How many times have we seen a detective be the same exact same character, all of the hallmarks being depressed, by themselves?

“Anyway, I like the fact it is doing something a little bit different. I don’t massively like it but there are moments I enjoyed.”

Hayley: “I didn’t think the point for us was that at any point we could work out the crime. I don’t think we’re supposed to know.”

Scott: “Do you think something is lost in that?”

Hayley: “No not really, as it is more about the characters. I think I have said: “Yeah sure, why not as a Must Watch”, but it’s not something I am raving about.

“I thought this was fun, they have crimes in it but they’re not really dark.

“It isn’t a whodunnit because as Scott said, you’re not given enough information to solve the crime yourself.

“You’re basically on the ride to just enjoy David Mitchell being a bit like Mark from ‘Peep Show’ if he got a job in the police.

“There is a new crime every week. It is a bit like along the lines of a cosy crime thing rather than a bleak one. Very little time is spent on the actual crime rather than the characters.”

Hayley: “However, it doesn’t feel patronising like those cosy ones that bother me. You know the ones with the old people in the villages.”

If you like David Mitchell, you will like this

Scott: “The one I quite liked earlier in this year was on drama.”

Hayley: “Yes, absolutely dreadful stuff. If you like David Mitchell, you will like this. He’s doing the same old things – he’s playing an anxious man who would rather be left alone, he’s sardonic, he likes his routine and resents having to break them.

“He has to leave his house and they are making him do it. As someone like me, who hates leaving their house, it is very fun to watch.”

You can get in touch with Scott and Hayley by email on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.

You can watch all six episodes of ‘Ludwig’ on BBC iPlayer.

Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening on BBC Sounds and all other podcast providers.

This week the team also reviewed ‘A Very Royal Scandal’ and ‘Agatha All Along’.

Your reviews

As always, we like to include your reviews - on shows you love, loathe or lament.

Message @bbc5live on social media using the hashtag #bbcmustwatch or email mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.

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Peter got in touch to tell us about Prison Break on Netflix.

Prison Break has it all. Suspense, humour, the completely unrealistic, but believable, great acting, and writers who have gone the extra mile. A compelling Must Watch.

Nightsleeper

The other week we reviewed Nightsleeper. Julie emailed us to share her thoughts.

I've just sat and binged watched the whole season and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a program that I just had to keep watching. I found it thrilling and easy watching. Can't understand why people didn't enjoy it.