Tom Ellis

Lucifer’s back... and his Satanic majesty requests your presence.

- Stephen Kelly

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was going from a supporting role in Miranda – Britain’s wackiest sitcom – to leading one of America’s hottest new shows: Lucifer, the strange and not-entirely-serious story of Satan’s crime-solving adventures in LA. It’s a show that initially confused the critics, who felt it was fluffy, disposable and nothing like the comics it was based on, which were themselves a spin-off from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. But the show eventually found its feet – becoming something fun, snappy and deceptively deep. This was helped, of course, by Tom Ellis, whose portrayal of Lucifer was cheeky and charming; whose charisma was able to power the show even through its most frivolous of moments, ensuring that fans stuck around to see it all truly pay off.

On a sweltering day in June, SFX caught up with Ellis to talk the reaction to series one, what’s to come in series two and – the big question – just who the hell is Lucifer’s mother?

It’s fair to say that – at first, at least – critics were not fans of Lucifer. But the series did start to click into place as it progressed, and found a loyal audience. Do you think we write off shows too easily?