Why ‘Luther’ Series Isn’t on Netflix Despite Movie Release

There are no plans to bring to Luther series to Netflix ahead of the movie release.

Kasey Moore What's on Netflix Avatar
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why isnt luther bbc series streaming on netflix

Luther – Picture: BBC Studios

The new Luther movie is now out in select cinemas in the United Kingdom, and if you want to binge the series ahead of The Fallen Sun hitting Netflix, you’re out of luck unless you want to watch on an alternative streaming service. Why is this, and where can you watch it instead? Here’s what you need to know.

So the TL;DR of this article is that we’re unaware of any intentions of any regions set to receive Luther before Luther: The Fallen Sun hits Netflix on March 10th.

When the movie was very early in development and not yet greenlit, we were told that the deal for Netflix to acquire the film was complex and took months to get over the line. It comes to Netflix via a joint production between Chernin Entertainment (who has an overall deal with Netflix) and BBC Films.

The series, therefore, still is wholly owned by BBC Studios, who in most countries, has already licensed out the show or is not selling the show to Netflix.

This isn’t rare for Netflix to be unable to get the streaming license to series or movies when they’ve acquired the rights to do a sequel. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a great example where Lionsgate still held the rights to the first movie and didn’t license it out to Netflix in the US (although it did do so in several other regions).

Of course, this could change in the weeks leading up to the release or shortly thereafter so we’ll keep you posted if that changes.

Netflix did not respond to repeated attempts to comment on this matter.

luther the fallen sun netflix movie

Luther: The Fallen Sun – Picture: Netflix


Luther is streaming on Netflix in two regions

Two regions of Netflix are streaming the series at the time of publishing.

According to Unogs, only two regions of Netflix are streaming Luther,  Netflix Switzerland and Netflix Germany. Those regions are streaming all five seasons of the show and are available in multiple audio and subtitle options.


Where is Luther streaming in the United States?

While unavailable on Netflix in the US, a couple of locations (plus a FAST service) are streaming Luther in the US leading up to the movie’s release.

The two SVOD services currently carrying the show include Hulu (which has all five seasons) and BritBox (which carries seasons 1-4).

As for free services, Pluto TV currently airs seasons 1-3.

At one point, Luther did stream on Netflix in the United States. In fact, it was available for several years, with seasons 1-3 added in September 2014 and season 4 added in 2016 before being removed in its entirety in 2019.


Where to stream Luther in other regions

The show is naturally streaming in full on the BBC iPlayer exclusively in the United Kingdom.

In Canada, the show is available on CBC Gem and BritBox.

In Australia, the show is available in full on Stan and BritBox.

For all other regions, we’d recommend using a service like JustWatch to find out where it’s streaming in your region, although BritBox is the most likely home.


Do you wish Luther was streaming on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.

Written by

Founder of What's on Netflix, Kasey has been tracking the comings and goings of the Netflix library for over a decade. Covering everything from new movies, series and games from around the world, Kasey is in charge of covering breaking news, covering all the new additions now available on Netflix and what's coming next.