Luther writer Neil Cross has discussed a last-minute change that was added by Netflix for Luther: Fallen Sun. The latest series recently hit Netflix on March 6th, starring Idris Elba in the titular role alongside actors like Andy Serkis.
When writing the script, Cross said that the original first victim was supposed to be a woman, telling The Independent: “For reasons I fear to interrogate too deeply, the female victims resonate and scare more deeply. So, there was a defiant part of me in the first draft of this, which was, ‘Oh fuck it – the victim is going to be a woman because that’s more frightening’”.
After coming under fire in the past for having a high number of female victims, Cross said he was persuaded by Netflix to change the victim, going on to say: “That’s the one moment where Netflix said, ‘Do you want to think about this a bit?’ And I did say, ‘Well, it’ll be less scary.’ I worried that it might be. But actually, they were right”.
Despite Netflix’s insistence on changing the scene, Cross has stood by the gender balance between victims in Luther, saying, “It’s been mentioned before that people are uncomfortable with the victimisation of women in Luther — not unfairly,” he said. “The odd thing, though, is that, if one were to do the maths, there are many, many more male victims in Luther than there are women”.
