First Impressions on 'Lucifer': A really refreshing detective series featuring the Devil himself

Alright, I'm a little late to the party with this one. Lucifer is a show I have heard of extensively over the years, but it's one of those names that's managed to remain elusive as I've just never really seen or heard anything beyond the title online. Nor have I ever stumbled across and trailers, reviews, or general promotional material for the show. It's a surprise to me given this isn't a show that started a long time ago, in fact it had a release from 2016 and ran until 2021. I do think that some of my lack of awareness of the show came from the fact that around this time streaming services were going crazy, with new ones popping up here and there every other day, and with a plethora of shows and films being released to no end in efforts to compete with each other. Lucifer seems like one of those shows that just didn't manage to find its way to my screens despite its success, somewhat of a failure, and then revival at the hands of its fans. It's a rare story in which it became victim to the greedy hands of production companies and studios as it felt the deathly blow of the cancellation axe. With an extensive fanbase, it managed to find a new home at Netflix, given another chance within the real of the streaming world.

For 2016, a release like this is rare. A show that takes on the detective genre yet again, and with little surprise by adding another comedic twist to it. I'm reminded of great shows like Psych and Castle, to which the first few episodes of Lucifer felt like it pulled some inspiration from. These shows are ones that take us through various stories one episode at a time, with characters that are either highly charismatic or perhaps a little too naive. With their antics ultimately leading them into a lifestyle that's beyond anything they could've considered prior. I have to say, I actually thoroughly enjoy these lighthearted detective series, more so than the more serious ones like Poirot. They're easy to sit down and get into, and great to putting down at random points and picking up again without feeling like you've missed something or need to remember a great plot point to catch up again. Lucifer instantly resonated with me, it quickly became a show I found enjoyable and wanted to see more of. And at the same time, it's no surprise that the chaotic world of television show production led to a struggled production and threat of cancellation despite its success with fans and ratings.

Lucifer seems to be a different take on that comedic detective structure however, it's a show that puts us next to the Devil himself as he takes a long vacation from Hell and finds himself on Earth in Los Angeles, to which the feeling of eternity in Hell has found boredom within him. New inspiration is found on Earth as he takes up the role of a nightclub owner (though I personally feel like something like a casino owner would've also been highly fitting for something the Devil would great take joy in owning). At the same time, a death leads him to the discovery of a detective in the police department, which sparks a new interest in him and humans as he proceeds to find himself surrounded by curious cases that he tags himself along in efforts to solve. There's this curiosity to Lucifer's character that finds him incredibly annoying to most, but also highly mischievous, sticking true to his devilish nature as he exploits and pursues whatever it is he wants with little regard for the rest. Though one thing I have thoroughly enjoyed about this is that Lucifer's character is incredibly up-front about being the Devil to humans. It's really up to them whether or not they want to believe it. And it's with this that the show manages to hold its protagonist's nature up quite well.

The curiosity of Lucifer remains, and a lot of it makes sense in how he slowly wants to start understanding humans a little more. It's met with an equal understanding of how much he wants to dish out justice. That may sound like something that doesn't make sense for the Devil, for who is supposedly meant to be pure evil. Though that isn't the case here for Lucifer's character is more interested in pursuing punishments to those who deserve it. Which means helping those who have been wronged. The balance in his character is quite interesting, especially after those moments in which the more ruthless nature of Lucifer comes out. I quite like that the character is handled in this way, he's not good, and despite sometimes helping people there's a clear sign that this is not someone to be looking up to. He is after all still the Devil. This brings me to the next enjoyment of the show regarding Lucifer's character: Tom Ellis is perfectly cast for the role. The performance is incredible. His English accent certainly does things justice in the show given it stands out from the rest of the American ones. And he certainly has that look and notion to him that acts charismatic while also completely dangerous.

A lot of the humour comes from Lucifer's total disregard for the way things are done on Earth. Knowing that there is an after life, a lot of his interactions and general lack of respect from people comes from the fact that he knows he's more powerful and can ultimately do anything. It adds a nice bit of drama to it all too as others around him are often startled and trying to promote the order that humanity tends to hold. Particularly in the realm of law, to which Lucifer tends to just ignore. I like this a lot about the show, that refusal to accept and the contrast between humanity's limited knowledge and ideologies with Lucifer's lack of care. I do have the feeling that Lucifer's character will change over the seasons, and that he'll slowly adapt and learn more on human condition, but I also hope that a lot of his stubborn and powerful ways remain. Even if it does come down to Lucifer ultimately being part of the police force in Los Angeles.

With the general 40 minute runtime per episode, the show is pretty fun to watch in the evenings. One or two episodes rarely feels like enough. But that's the fun of it. And I'm looking forward to seeing how it progresses.