Series: To catch a cannibal

How do you get a man who left his job because of the psychological trauma it caused him, to come back to work?

According to the new season of Luther you need: a dead love interest, villains involved in cannibalistic erotica, and an explosion.

To be fair, "season" may be an overstatement as the latest instalment of this sinewy cop drama is only two episodes long.

Idris Elba (who plays John Luther) says the reason for such a truncated season is down to time constraints brought about by scheduling complications - and it shows. Spanning less time than a T20 cricket match, season four eschews fleshing out new characters and relies on a brooding Luther to carry it.

When we are reunited with Luther, he is moodily hiding out in a secluded beach house presumably waiting for his sociopathic lover, Alice Morgan, to return with a bag of money and plane tickets to their new life. Predictably, the plan hits a speed hump in the form of Morgan turning up dead in Belgium. What follows is a macabre jaunt through London chasing a serial killer who eats his victims.

During this caper Luther finds himself dancing on both sides of the law to catch the hungry murderer. He is helped by former Game of Thrones actor Rose Leslie and the same team of detectives from previous seasons.

Luther's intellect does not smugly impose itself on the plot in some grand reveal. There's no attempt to elevate him to superhero status. If anything, the show is at pains to mire him in his humanity. He is fragile in that overly masculine way that many men are - quick tempered, and he doesn't play well with others. What makes the show work is that he is gruffly empathetic and intuitive, traits that take their toll on him as he wades through the depths of human depravity.

• Season four of 'Luther' is available on Netflix

BOX POPS

HOMELAND S6

Carrie Mathison is back to help rid the world of terror.

• Homeland starts at 2am on Tuesday on DStv channel 102

HIM S1

A semi-gritty drama about a teenage boy grappling with love, loss and a deadly supernatural power.

• Him starts at 9pm on Tuesday on DStv channel 123

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM S2

The legendary part- improvisational comedy is back.

• Curb Your Enthusiasm airs on DStv channel 102 on Thursdays at 10.10pm