Comic book adaptations might be hot stuff in Hollywood, but Tom Ellis has admitted he didn't know the origins of his new series Lucifer when he auditioned.

It was the pilot script by Californication creator Tom Kapinos, rather than Neil Gaiman's source material, that turned him on to this story of a very different devil.

"It is a loose adaptation," Ellis told Digital Spy. "I hadn't used anything from the comic to start with. But since then Neil Gaiman, who was behind the original incarnation, has got in touch with me.

"He told me he really enjoyed the pilot, so that was nice - it was almost like one of the parents giving us their blessing.

"I mean, we took it to Comic Con [in San Diego] last year and that was a real experience. We got a real sense of anticipation from comic book lovers.

"But I'm hoping now that we don't only have those people - that we have a bit of a broader audience than the regular comic book fans."

Fox

Lucifer explores what happens when the King of Hell resigns his throne and abandons his kingdom to soak up the delights of Los Angeles.

He also, from time to time, assists the LAPD in punishing criminals - though only when it suits him.

Since he had no clue about the show's comic book roots, what appealed to Ellis about the pilot was that it made him laugh more than the sitcom scripts he'd read.

"I think one of our saving graces of the show overall is the humour - and the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously," he said. "But within that, there are moments of real darkness and horror - because this is the Devil and it would be wrong just to be completely glib about this character.

"We earn our moments of horror through our moments of comedy - and vice versa. It was a tricky line to find, but I think we're doing it. I think we're doing it."

Fox

Part of that balance means that Lucifer is neither a cop show or a fantasy series - according to Ellis, it's "a real hybrid of the two".

"I certainly wouldn't call it a 'cop show', but I also wouldn't call it a 'supernatural' show - there's very little supernatural stuff in it," he said.

"One of the things that I really like about it is we really don't rely that much at all on special effects in the show. It's very much a character-driven piece."

Key to the series is Lucifer's journey - with the one-time King of Hell going through something of an existential crisis in LA.

Fox

Ellis even compiled a playlist - now totalling an epic 115 tracks - to help track the character's mindset throughout the first season.

"It started off with lots of Rolling Stones - 'Sympathy for the Devil', 'Gimme Shelter' - but there's some more modern stuff now… we've got 'Do I Wanna Know?' by the Arctic Monkeys, 'Hate to Say I Told You So' by The Hives, it's quite an eclectic mix!'

Could it be there's some clues in there as to what to expect from Lucifer's first season? Stay tuned…

Lucifer is available on Amazon Prime from January 26.

Tom Ellis is a womanising devil in 2016's wild new series Lucifer

See Tom Ellis play a womanising devil in the trailer for Lucifer below:

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