Back in 2012, two years after Sherlock introduced the world to a Benedict Cumberbatch-played Sherlock Holmes who lived in modern times (there’s still no word on if Season 5 will ever happen), CBS followed suit with Elementary, which starred Jonny Lee Miller as a Sherlock solving crimes in New York City. Elementary ended in 2019 after seven seasons, and can currently be streamed with a Hulu subscription. Four years later though, the TV network already has another Sherlock Holmes-related show on the way with a solid lead attached. I say “related” because rather than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective being the lead character, it will be his friend, Dr. John Watson.
CBS has given a straight-to-series order to Watson, a medical drama starring Morris Chestnut as Sherlock Holmes’ title companion. This will be a contemporary show like Elementary was and take place one year after Sherlock’s death at the hands of his arch-enemy, Professor James Moriarty. The official longline reveals that John Watson will resume his medical career now that his close friend is gone as “the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders.”
However, that doesn’t mean that Watson’s “old life” is behind him, as he and Moriarty are set to form a more personal adversarial relationship. Or, as the longline put it, “write their own chapter of a story that has fascinated audiences for more than a century.” Limitless and The 4400 creator Craig Sweeny, who was also a writer and executive producer on Elementary, is the mastermind behind Watson and will fill the showrunner and executive producer roles. Morris Chestnut is also executive producing in addition to starring.
Chestnut is, of course, no stranger to TV work, with his biggest credits in the small screen realm including V, Rosewood, Goliath and The Resident. He’s also well known for playing Lance Sullivan in the movies The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday, a role he reprised in 2022 for the miniseries The Best Man: The Final Chapters, which Peacock subscribers can stream. (And no, that’s not him in the Fast & Furious movies.) Now he has the opportunity to not only put his own spin on Dr. John Watson, but do so as a leading character rather than a supporting one.
It sounds like Watson will sit comfortably on as a CBS procedural, though unlike Elementary, it seems like it’ll focus more on John Watson’s medical work rather than him solving a new crime each week. So keeping that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see how much time the show dedicates to this continued clash with Moriarty. I also can’t help but wonder if Watson’s version of Sherlock Holmes isn’t actually dead, which is well warranted given how Doyle revived the character killing him off in “The Final Problem.” If he is indeed alive, and depending on how long Watson runs, one has to imagine he’ll eventually be featured on screen, even if it’s just in a guest-starring capacity.
Watson is tentatively set to premiere sometime during the 2024-2025 TV season, so we’ll keep you apprised on its progress as more news comes in. Meanwhile, look through the 2024 TV schedule to discover what shows are premiering/returning in the coming months.
