Lucifer (TV series)

Lucifer
Genre	Police procedural Comedy-drama Mystery Crime Horror Fantasy
Based on	The characters created for Vertigo  by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg
Developed by	Tom Kapinos
Starring	Tom Ellis Lauren German Kevin Alejandro D. B. Woodside Lesley-Ann Brandt Scarlett Estevez Kevin Rankin Rachael Harris
Composer(s)	Marco Beltrami Dennis Smith
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Tom Kapinos (pilot) Ildy Modrovich Len Wiseman Jonathan Littman Jerry Bruckheimer Joe Henderson
Producer(s)	Alex Katsnelson Michael Azzolino Erik Holmberg Nathan Hope
Editor(s)	Marc Pattavina Ray Daniels III Fred Peterson
Location(s)	Los Angeles, California (pilot) Vancouver, British Columbia
Cinematography	Glen Keenan Ryan McMaster
Camera setup	Single-camera
Production company(s)	Jerry Bruckheimer Television Vertigo (DC Entertainment) Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	January 25, 2016 – present
External links
Website
Production website

Lucifer is an American fantasy police procedural comedy-drama television series developed by Tom Kapinos that premiered on Fox on January 25, 2016.^[1][2] It features a character created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg taken from the comic book series The Sandman, which later became the protagonist of the spin-off comic book series Lucifer written by Mike Carey, both published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. In April 2016, Fox renewed the series for a second season.

Premise

The series focuses on Lucifer Morningstar, "who is bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell and resigns his throne and abandons his kingdom for the beauty of Los Angeles, where he gets his kicks helping the LAPD punish criminals".^[3] Lucifer runs a piano bar in Los Angeles called "Lux", with the assistance of his demonic ally Mazikeen. After a minor celebrity whom Lucifer once helped achieve fame is murdered outside his club, Lucifer becomes involved with the LAPD when he takes it upon himself to assist Detective Chloe Decker in finding the one responsible so that he can "punish them".

Cast and characters

• Tom Ellis^[4] as Lucifer Morningstar: The Lord of Hell who is bored with his life, abdicates his throne and becomes a consultant for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) while running his own nightclub called Lux. Among other powers, he has a supernatural awareness of any person's hidden desires and can compel them to speak the truth. He enjoys using these abilities to expose sinners in public.^[5] He speaks casually about his identity, but is not usually believed.
• Lauren German as Chloe Decker:^[6][7][8][9] An LAPD homicide detective who solves crimes with Lucifer after he takes an interest in her because she appears immune to his abilities. Because of an earlier incident in which she clashed with the LAPD concerning a cop shooting, she is now ostracized by her fellow officers. She seems to be the only one able to physically hurt Lucifer.
• Kevin Alejandro^[10] as Dan Espinoza: An LAPD homicide detective and Chloe's ex-husband. He is not a fan of Lucifer mainly because of the hellraiser's connection to Chloe and their daughter, Trixie.
• D. B. Woodside^[11] as Amenadiel: A dark-winged angel, and Lucifer's brother, who arrives in Los Angeles to encourage Lucifer to go back to Hell, saying the latter's new life is upsetting Earth's balance. He and Lucifer despise each other.
• Lesley-Ann Brandt as Mazikeen: Confidante and a devoted ally of Lucifer Morningstar. She is the war leader of the Lilim, a race descended from Lilith, and acts as a bartender at Lucifer's club.^[12]
• Scarlett Estevez^[13] as Beatrice, nicknamed "Trixie": Chloe and Dan's daughter who befriends Lucifer, much to his amazement (and disgust, since he despises children).
• Rachael Harris^[11] as Dr. Linda Martin: Lucifer's therapist, with whom he has a sexual relationship due to his powers of persuasion. Dr. Martin believes that Lucifer is using a religious metaphor and does not believe he is really the devil. She attempts to help Lucifer solve his emotional and personal problems throughout the series, and tries to get him to open up about his emotions.
• Kevin Rankin^[14] as Malcolm Graham: A police officer who was shot prior to the beginning of the series. Chloe Decker witnessed the shooting, which occurred while Malcolm was secretly meeting with a suspected criminal. After the shooting, he was left in a coma. He was then brought back from the dead by Amenadiel to kill Lucifer. He was killed by Chloe Decker in the season finale after a series of murders.

Production

In September 2014, it was reported that DC and Fox were developing a television series based on the Sandman character Lucifer, as originally written by Neil Gaiman.^[1] In February 2015, it was announced that Tom Ellis had been cast as Lucifer Morningstar, and that Tom Kapinos would write the pilot, to be directed by Len Wiseman.^[4] Lina Esco was originally cast as Maze,^[15] however, the role was later recast with Lesley-Ann Brandt.^[12] Nicholas Gonzalez portrayed Dan in the pilot episode.^[16]

In May 2015, the series was officially picked up for 13 episodes for the 2015–16 season.^[17][18] Fox then hired Almost Human alum Joe Henderson as showrunner, with Kapinos remaining on the series in a lesser capacity.^[19]

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	Len Wiseman	Tom Kapinos	January 25, 2016	276096	7.16[20]
Lucifer Morningstar, the retired angel of Hell, owns a high end night club in Los Angeles. When the pop star he tries to help is murdered in front of him by a drug dealer, he uses his powers of persuasion to assist Detective Decker in apprehending the true culprit behind the murder. All the while, he must deal with his brother angel who is putting pressure on him from their 'father' to return to running Hell.
2	"Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil."	Nathan Hope	Joe Henderson	February 1, 2016	4X6502	6.00[21]
Lucifer and Detective Decker work together again to solve a homicide, this time that of a movie star's son who was killed by an overeager paparazzo who frequently created volatile situations in order to get the "first scoop" on the story.
3	"The Would-Be Prince of Darkness"	Louis Milito	Jason Ning & Jenn Kao	February 8, 2016	4X6510	5.47[22]
When a football star whom Lucifer convinced to lose his virginity is arrested for the murder of the girl with whom he slept, Lucifer works to prove his innocence.
4	"Manly Whatnots"	Matt Earl Beesley	Ildy Modrovich	February 15, 2016	4X6503	5.13[23]
Chloe and Lucifer investigate a missing persons case involving a girl, Lindsay Jolson (Bailey Noble), who was involved with a pick-up artist. The investigation is complicated by Lucifer's repeated attempts to seduce Chloe in an effort to better understand her. Meanwhile, Amenadiel confronts a reluctant Mazikeen about Lucifer. At Lucifer's encouragement, Chloe shoots him in the leg. To Lucifer's bewilderment, he feels pain and bleeds.
5	"Sweet Kicks"	Tim Matheson	Sheri Elwood	February 22, 2016	4X6504	4.86[24]
Lucifer assists Chloe in a case involving an artist/high-end shoe designer who was once in a street gang. In doing so, Lucifer knowingly puts himself in danger, finding it exciting to test his mortality. He and Chloe are ultimately rescued from a hostile situation by Mazikeen. Meanwhile, Amenadiel surprises Dr. Martin by showing up at her office after hours, stating he is a fellow psychotherapist who has moved into the office next door. The two agree to have drinks and openly discuss patients.
6	"Favorite Son"	David Paymer	Jason Ning	February 29, 2016	4X6505	3.91[25]
When a warehouse is robbed and the security guard murdered, it turns out that the stolen container belongs to Lucifer. He and Decker then work to find the culprit, which Lucifer sees as protecting his reputation in the city. Meanwhile, Lucifer continues to struggle with his identity and Amenadiel continues to try to use Dr. Martin to get to Lucifer. It is revealed that the stolen shipping container holds Lucifer's wings.
7	"Wingman"	Eriq La Salle	Alex Katsnelson	March 7, 2016	4X6506	4.24[26]
Lucifer continues the search for his wings and turns to Amenadiel for help. Meanwhile, Chloe asks Dan for help in investigating the Palmetto case in the hopes that she can find something to confirm her suspicions against the cop who is about to die. Lucifer regains his wings, but burns them to anger Amenadiel and halt his own return to his former throne as the King of Hell.
8	"Et Tu, Doctor?"	Eagle Egilsson	Jenn Kao	March 14, 2016	4X6507	3.86[27]
The duo investigates the murder of a controversial therapist who advocated adultery as a means of saving relationships. Meanwhile, Lucifer shoehorns his own therapist, Dr. Linda Martin, into the case in an attempt to "solve" Decker's issue with Dan.
9	"A Priest Walks into a Bar"	David Frazee	Chris Rafferty	March 21, 2016	4X6508	3.82[28]
Lucifer and Detective Decker investigate when a priest asks for Lucifer's help in stopping a drug ring he believes is being headed by the counselor at a local youth centre. However, a problem arises when the youth counselor is found dead and suspicion quickly falls on the priest. Meanwhile, Amenadiel meets with Malcolm to discuss the reason he brought him back from hell.
10	"Pops"	Tara Nicole Weyr	Alex Katsnelson & Mike Costa	March 28, 2016	4X6509	3.76[29]
Chloe and Lucifer investigate the poisoning death of the owner/chef at an upscale Mexican restaurant whom Lucifer admired. Suspicion falls on the owner's estranged son (Manny Montana), a recovering drug addict, and the sous-chef Anne (Tara Summers) who would assume control of the restaurant if the son was out of the picture. The investigation is complicated by the surprise arrival of Chloe's mother. Meanwhile, Malcolm reveals to Dan his plan to kill Lucifer, as directed by Amenadiel, and Mazikeen visits Dr. Martin as a patient.
11	"St. Lucifer"	Mairzee Almas	Sheri Elwood & David McMillan	April 11, 2016	4X6511	3.44[30]
12	"#TeamLucifer"	Greg Beeman	Ildy Modrovich	April 18, 2016	4X6512	3.81[31]
When a member of a satanic church is killed, Lucifer is greatly disturbed that anyone would kill in his name. When it turns out that Malcolm is trying to frame him for murder in the name of Amenadiel, Lucifer gets into a fight with him. Elsewhere, Lucifer comes to realize that it is Chloe who makes him vulnerable to bodily injury.
13	"Take Me Back to Hell"	Nathan Hope	Joe Henderson	April 25, 2016	4X6513	3.89[32]
Lucifer teams up with Amenadiel against Malcolm, but Amenadiel is injured. Chloe is able to get her hands on Malcolm's money while Lucifer's name is cleared in the murder he was framed for. Malcolm kidnaps Trixie to force Chloe to turn over his money and trying to save Chloe and her daughter, Lucifer is fatally shot. Lucifer prays to God to save the two, promising to work for Him again if he does. God resurrects Lucifer at full strength, but not before showing him a vision of something that greatly disturbs Lucifer. Lucifer and Chloe kill Malcolm for good and Lucifer reveals to Amenadiel that God had asked of him to recapture a soul that had escaped from Hell in exchange. A clearly worried Lucifer tells his brother that the soul is simply "Mom".

Broadcast

Broadcast on the Fox network in the US, the series is available in the United Kingdom from Amazon Prime^[33] and in Australia on FX.^[34]

Reception

Critical reception

The show received generally mixed reviews. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the series a 49% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.2/10 based on 35 reviews. The website's consensus reads: "Lucifer's got sex appeal, but the show's hackneyed cop procedural format undermines a potentially entertaining premise."^[35] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 49 out of 100 based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".^[36]

The pilot episode was screened in July at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. The pilot was met positively by the viewers, with Bleeding Cool's Dan Wickline praising the episode, saying "the show itself is enjoyable because of the great dialogue and flawless delivery from its lead" and "This version of Lucifer refuses to take almost anything seriously and the show is better for it."^[37] Max Nicholson of IGN rated the pilot episode a 6.9/10, praising Tom Ellis's performance as Lucifer and the lighthearted tone of the show, but criticizing the show for essentially being another crime procedural show.^[38]

Controversy

On May 28, 2015, the American Family Association (AFA) website One Million Moms launched a petition to prevent the show's airing.^[39] The petition says the new series "will glorify Satan as a caring, likable person in human flesh."^[40] It posted the petition on that date and 31,312 had signed the petition by the series' premiere date.^[41] The petition on the main AFA website, posted the same date, garnered 134,331 signatures by the premiere date.^[42][43] In response to the petition, character creator Neil Gaiman commented on his Tumblr page: "Ah. It seems like only yesterday (but it was 1991) that the "Concerned Mothers of America" announced that they were boycotting The Sandman because it contained lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans characters. It was Wanda that upset them most: the idea of a trans-woman in a comic book... They told us they were organizing a boycott of The Sandman, which they would only stop if we wrote to the American Family Association and promised to reform. I wonder if they noticed it didn't work last time, either..."^[44] Despite the AFA's actions, Fox renewed the series in April 2016 for a second season.^[45]

Ratings

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	January 25, 2016	2.4/7	7.16[20]	1.4	3.63	3.8	10.78[46]
2	"Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil."	February 1, 2016	2.0/6	6.00[21]	1.1	3.30	3.1	9.30[47]
3	"The Would-Be Prince of Darkness"	February 8, 2016	1.7/5	5.47[22]	1.1	3.00	2.8	8.46[48]
4	"Manly Whatnots"	February 15, 2016	1.6/4	5.13[23]	1.1	2.97	2.7	8.10[49]
5	"Sweet Kicks"	February 22, 2016	1.5/4	4.86[24]	1.1	2.97	2.6	7.83[50]
6	"Favorite Son"	February 29, 2016	1.3/4	3.91[25]	1.1	3.00	2.4	6.91[51]
7	"Wingman"	March 7, 2016	1.3/4	4.24[26]	1.0	2.80	2.3	7.04[52]
8	"Et Tu, Doctor?"	March 14, 2016	1.2/4	3.86[27]	1.1	3.05	2.3	6.91[53]
9	"A Priest Walks into a Bar"	March 21, 2016	1.2/4	3.82[28]	1.1	3.04	2.3	6.86[54]
10	"Pops"	March 28, 2016	1.2/4	3.76[29]	1.1	2.94	2.3	6.68[55]
11	"St. Lucifer"	April 11, 2016	1.1/4	3.44[30]	1.0	2.86	2.1	6.28[56]
12	"#TeamLucifer"	April 18, 2016	1.3/4	3.81[31]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
13	"Take Me Back to Hell"	April 25, 2016	1.3/4	3.89[32]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

See also

• Television in the United States portal
• 2010s portal

References

1. Andreeva, Nellie (September 16, 2014). "Fox Nabs DC Entertainment 'Lucifer' Drama From Tom Kapinos As Put Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
2. Keveney, Bill (November 10, 2015). "'Idol,' 'New Girl' get Fox winter premiere dates". USA Today. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
3. Andreeva, Nellie (February 19, 2015). "'Lucifer' Gets Pilot Order At Fox, Len Wiseman Directing, Jerry Bruckheimer EP". Deadline.
4. Chris, Arrant (February 27, 2015). "LUCIFER Cast For New FOX Pilot". Newsarama.com.
5. "LUCIFER – Official Trailer – FOX BROADCASTING". YouTube. May 11, 2015.
6. "LUCIFER | Character Profile: Chloe Decker". YouTube.
7. Andreeva, Nellie (March 10, 2015). "Lauren German To Co-Star In Lucifer". deadline.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
8. Yohannes, Alamin (March 11, 2015). "LUCIFER Finds Female Lead In Lauren German". DCtvuniverse.com.
9. "Lucifer TV Show Casts Female Lead". Renegade Cinema. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
10. Andreeva, Nellie (July 1, 2015). "Kevin Alejandro Joins Fox Series 'Lucifer' As Regular In Recasting". Deadline.
11. Yohannes, Alamin (March 14, 2015). "D.B. Woodside And Rachael Harris Board 'Lucifer'". DCtvuniverse.com.
12. Andreeva, Nellie (March 17, 2015). "Lesley-Ann Brandt Joins 'Lucifer' Fox Pilot in Recasting". Deadline.
13. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (May 8, 2015). "Fox Adds DC Comics Drama 'Lucifer' & 'Minority Report' to 2015–16 Slate". Variety.
14. "Fox's 'Lucifer' Casts Kevin Rankin". Deadline.com. October 5, 2015.
15. Marston, George (March 4, 2015). "FOX Adds Female Co-Star To LUCIFER Pilot". Newsarama.
16. Yohannes, Alamin (March 13, 2015). "Fox's 'Lucifer' Adds Nicholas Gonzalez As Series Regular". DCtvuniverse.com.
17. Goldman, Eric (May 9, 2015). "FOX ORDERS MINORITY REPORT AND DC COMICS' LUCIFER". Retrieved May 9, 2015.
18. Lucifer Writers Room (February 15, 2015). "13 episodes in Season 1! #MuchMoreToCome". Retrieved February 16, 2015.
19. Andreeva, Nellie (May 9, 2015). "Joe Henderson To Run Fox Drama 'Lucifer'". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
20. Porter, Rick (January 26, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'Scorpion' and 'Superstore' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
21. Porter, Rick (February 2, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'X-Files,' 'Lucifer' and 'The Bachelor' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
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32. Porter, Rick (April 26, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'The Voice' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
33. Sandwell, Ian (October 23, 2015). "DC Comics series Lucifer is coming to Amazon Prime in the UK". Digital Spy. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
34. Knox, David (November 5, 2015). "Foxtel Upfronts 2016: Local thrillers, Lifestyle & US Drama.". TV Tonight. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
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36. "Lucifer : Season 1 (2016)". Metacritic. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
37. Wickline, Dan (July 10, 2015). "SDCC '15: Pilot Screening of Lucifer – 'An Invaluable Crime-fighting Tool'". Bleeding Cool.
38. Nicholson, Max (January 23, 2016). "LUCIFER: "PILOT" REVIEW". IGN. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
39. Richter, Greg (June 7, 2015). "Fox's 'Lucifer' Series Draws Protests". newsmax.com.
40. Deen, Sarah (June 8, 2015). "Christian group One Million Moms is really unhappy about the new Lucifer TV show". metro.co.uk/.
41. "Urge FOX – Drop Plans to Air 'Lucifer' – Sign Petition Now!". onemillionmoms.com. June 10, 2015.
42. "FOX Network to air 'Lucifer' – portraying Satan as a good guy". afa.net. May 27, 2015.
43. Smith, Samuel (May 29, 2015). "'Lucifer' Fox TV Series 'Mocks the Bible,' Says One Million Moms' Petition to Cancel the Show". christianpost.com.
44. Leane, Rob (June 1, 2015). "Lucifer: Neil Gaiman reacts to petition against TV show". Den of Geek!.
45. Andreeva, Nellie (April 7, 2016). "'Lucifer', 'Rosewood' Renewed For Season 2 By Fox, Who's Still On the Bubble There?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
46. Porter, Rick (February 16, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Lucifer' premiere shows solid growth in week 19". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
47. Porter, Rick (February 22, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' gains the most, 'Vampire Diaries' and 'Shades of Blue' double". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
48. Porter, Rick (February 29, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'How to Get Away with Murder,' 5 other shows double in a DVR-heavy week 21". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
49. Porter, Rick (March 7, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'The Blacklist' and 'The Big Bang Theory' lead week 22". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
50. Porter, Rick (March 14, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' has biggest week 23 gain, 'Jane the Virgin' and 3 others double". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
51. Porter, Rick (March 21, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Blindspot,' 'Jane' and 'Quantico' top week 24". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
52. Porter, Rick (March 28, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'Quantico' lead week 25". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
53. Porter, Rick (April 5, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Modern Family' and 'Blindspot' gain the most for March 14–20". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
54. Porter, Rick (April 11, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'Modern Family' tops the week of March 21–27, 4 shows double". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
55. Porter, Rick (April 18, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'Empire' lead the week of March 28 – April 3". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
56. Porter, Rick (May 2, 2016). "Broadcast Live +7 ratings: ‘Empire’ and ‘Blacklist’ have biggest gains, 4 shows double". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 2, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Lucifer at the Internet Movie Database