Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.There are times when it’s handy to have a doctor in the family, and others that make you glad to be related to a professional puzzle setter. When Lucy’s husband suddenly disappears leaving behind only a coded message, she calls on her reclusive brother-in-law to help make sense of it all. But John is something of an enigma himself. He is so confounded by the world outside crossword grids and sudoku cells that he can barely be convinced to leave his home, let alone delve into a potential police conspiracy.Yet that’s precisely what’s required of John in Ludwig, a new BBC comedy-mystery series starring David Mitchell. Working well within his comfort zone, he plays John like a not-so distant relative of Mark Corrigan, the nerdy, neurotic loan manager with whom he made his name in Peep Show. John meanwhile finds himself having to play his identical twin James (a Cambridge detective) in order to infiltrate the station and gather information about what his brother was investigating before vanishing.Though he reluctantly goes undercover at the behest of Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin), John soon discovers that he has a knack for solving crimes with his logic-based approach. In addition to the main story, each episode introduces a standalone case from the apparent murder hotspot that is picturesque Cambridge.A throwback to the kind of “mystery-of-the-week” shows that were once a small screen staple, Ludwig is as old-fashioned as its Nokia-wielding, jalopy-driving protagonist. But cosiness becomes stifling and dull in a show that offers little else. Poorly served by a 60-minute format, it is surprisingly laborious despite never displaying any ambition beyond being easy, anodyne viewing. Too often the humour feels lacklustre as it pokes gentle fun at John’s awkwardness — or else is lacking entirely. The mystery component meanwhile is encumbered with clunky exposition and resolutions that demonstrate John’s smarts without inviting us to test our own. Instead, Ludwig makes incongruous attempts to pull on our heartstrings with a flimsy back-story about John’s unhappy childhood. The result is a series that’s more like a jumbled word search than a well-constructed cryptic.★★☆☆☆On BBC1 from September 25 at 9pm with new episodes weekly, and on iPlayer now
