To build a case
John enters his missing twin’s police world and finds himself expected to solve a real murder.
What happens in Ludwig Series 1 Episode 1? →Episodes
Twelve puzzles. One larger mystery.
Start with a spoiler-light brief, then open a dedicated guide for the puzzle method, James-story connection, related people and places, and a clearly marked solution desk.
Last checked 4 October 2026 · Sources & corrections
Complete episode guide
Twelve cases, with enough detail to choose
Each spoiler-light summary explains the case premise and dominant reasoning lens. Full clues, James developments and solution boundaries remain inside the guide.
Series 1
The impersonation guides
Six cases in which John solves murders while trying to survive inside James’s identity.
The manor-house case
A disappearance at a grand house becomes a closed-system problem of movement, timing and testimony.
What happens in Ludwig Series 1 Episode 2? →The walking-tour murder
A Cambridge tour ends in murder, making the order of its stops and public sightlines part of the case.
What happens in Ludwig Series 1 Episode 3? →The impossible construction-site crime
John models an apparently impossible construction-site death as a sequence of permitted and blocked moves.
What happens in Ludwig Series 1 Episode 4? →Back to school
A headmaster’s death reconnects John with his puzzle-setting past and an institution’s selective memory.
What happens in Ludwig Series 1 Episode 5? →The disguise cracks
The weekly case and John’s deception converge as Lucy is pulled into danger and knowledge begins to shift.
What happens in Ludwig Series 1 Episode 6? →Series 2
The consultant guides
Six cases after John’s relationship with the police changes and the missing-brother investigation continues.
The theatre case
John returns officially as a consultant when an unusual double confession turns a theatre into the puzzle board.
What happens in Ludwig Series 2 Episode 1? →The wedding witnesses
A murder at a wedding ceilidh appears to happen before a room full of witnesses.
What happens in Ludwig Series 2 Episode 2? →The influencer case
A death in central Cambridge creates a movement-and-CCTV problem with gaps between fields of view.
What happens in Ludwig Series 2 Episode 3? →The snooker puzzle
A snooker-linked murder asks John to reconstruct angles, expertise and what a player would notice.
What happens in Ludwig Series 2 Episode 4? →The sushi-bar case
An unlikely witness and a compact room make physical layout central to what could be observed.
What happens in Ludwig Series 2 Episode 5? →Close to home
A death close to home pushes the immediate case and the James investigation toward a major turn.
What happens in Ludwig Series 2 Episode 6? →Episode directory
Every episode guide in one place
Start with a series, the Christmas special or an individual spoiler-gated guide.
New viewer route
Where should I start?
The safest answer depends on how much of the long James mystery you want revealed.
First visit
Begin with Series 1, Episode 1. It establishes John's impersonation, the police ensemble and the rules of the long mystery.
What happens in Ludwig Series 1 Episode 1? →Returning for Series 2
Read the Series 1 finale brief and James chronology before the Series 2 opener. Both pages honour the site's spoiler setting.
Refresh the finale →Case-only browsing
Use the spoiler-light brief at the top of any guide, then stop at its clearly marked solution boundary.
Set your spoiler boundary →Official BBC video
Watch both series trailers
The Series 1 trailer and Series 2 first look are now available together as privacy-enhanced YouTube embeds.
The Series 1 and Series 2 trailers →Source control
Hosted by the publisher
The videos are embedded from the official BBC channels rather than copied or re-uploaded by the Casebook.
Essential Ludwig guides
Catch up and follow the long case
For another mystery to watch next, try Shows like Ludwig.
More ways into the series
Compare every Ludwig episode ranked, read short lines from the programme, or try the Ludwig quiz.
How we check: every fact on this page is taken from the BBC, the production companies or named, dated reports. See our sources and method or send a correction.