As the broadcast season for 2024 approaches, news of a Sherlock Holmes spin-off series has surfaced. However, it is not expected to take the usual crime investigative approach but unfold into the medical mysteries of Holmes’s most trusted confidant, Dr. Watson as commences his medical career. The show will be set in a timeline post Holmes’s death after falling off a cliff while fighting the evil Professor Moriarty.
While a Sherlock Holmes feature is always welcomed by fans, the new spin-off series isn’t all that exciting for many. Moments after the news rolled in on social media, netizens made the effort to express their unfiltered thoughts on the matter.
CBS’s gets ambitious with Sherlock Holmes spin-off
CBS’s Dr. Watson made the big move of race-swapping Dr. Watson’s character as Morris Chestnut was signed for the lead role. The network has ordered a straight-to-series agreement, which means there won’t be any official pilot for the series, per Deadline. Chestnut will star as the titular Dr. John Watson in addition to acting as the executive producer of the show, alongside Kapital Entertainment’s Aaron Kaplan, Brian Morewitz, and Shäron Moalem MD, PhD.
Created by Elementary writer Craig Sweeny, Dr. Watson will serve as the plot of a modern medical drama, with Dr. Watson solving mysteries in his professional domain, a year after Sherlock Holmes died. But, it’s nearly impossible to completely leave behind Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic character from the show.
Holmes is expected to appear in flashbacks in Dr. Watson; it is yet unknown who might portray him. The show will center around Chestnut’s Dr. Watson, who will be heading a clinic, treating rare medical conditions, and associated mysteries. Notably, the 55-year-old actor has a reputation for playing doctors in multiple series like The Resident, Nurse Jackie, and Rosewood.
The Sherlock Holmes spin-off series failed to amuse fans
The iconic character of the ages, the fictional best detective in the world, Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in A Study of Scarlet, back in 1887, per Britannica. Even multiple decades later, the fandom for Holmes remains intact. However, the recent twist added to the Sherlock Holmes spin-off failed to attract fans, deriving a lot of mixed reactions.
A Sherlock medical drama series ‘WATSON’ is in the works with Morris Chestnut as Dr. Watson.
The series follows Dr. John Watson as he resumes his medical career after the death of Sherlock Holmes at the hands of Moriarty. pic.twitter.com/YCTpOXtqRd
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 3, 2024
Discussing Film shared a post on X that derived quite some insights from the fans. In general, fans were irked by the medical twist and implied they would rather watch Dr. Watson solve crime mysteries than confine himself to the clinic. Here are some of the reactions:
This is just House MD again
— Allison$ (@AllisonGuacamo1) January 3, 2024
So then, it’s not even Sherlock, it’s just a doctor show, why not create an original character instead?
— Tynan McDonald (@FandomAnxiety) January 3, 2024
If we're just being honest…. pic.twitter.com/OCaSQfWgfR
— Richard D Rembert | Software Engineer (@RichardDRembert) January 3, 2024
They still don't have the balls to race swap Holmes. So you get sad, black, Watson.
— Kilo Harrison 🇺🇸 (@kil071art) January 3, 2024
I shall keep as much of an open mind as I can, but I really don’t care about Watson’s Medical Adventures. I care about their dynamic as a team.
— Coat (@iwantthatcoat) January 4, 2024
Why? Just create new characters it's kinda like you need Sherlock popularity to boost the show
— Ali (@Alisalar1384) January 3, 2024
Scheduled to premiere in late 2024, around fall, the CBS drama is among the network’s fresh endeavors for the 2024-25 broadcast season. Details on the other cast members are still to be disclosed.
There have been several spin-offs on the witty detective, with a series focusing on his little but competitive sister, Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes. Likewise, Dr. Watson showrunner Craig Sweeny recently led CBS’s Elementary, a modern adaptation of Sherlock Holmes’s adventures.
