The 'Watson' Trailer Has Sherlock Holmes's Right Hand Turn to Medical Mysteries

Sherlock Homes fans stay winning. With multiple properties related to the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the pipeline for next year (Young Sherlock, Sherlock & Daughter) and omnipresent rumors of returns to several others (the BBC Sherlock, Enola Holmes, and Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films), you basically can't move without tripping over some form of deerstalker-related content. Even American television isn't immune to this trend, particularly now that the Holmes stories have made their way into the public domain. 

CBS already found considerable success in this fictional universe with the unorthodox Elementary (a.k.a So What If We Made John Watson a Woman?), so it's not terribly surprising the network is already going back to the Holmes well for its latest mystery drama. Just...not in the way you might think. The upcoming procedural Watson is not only a story in which the great detective himself is entirely absent, but one that's focused on medical cases rather than traditional crimes. 

Picking up just months after Holmes' death at Reichenbach Falls, the series follows Dr. John Watson (The Resident's Morris Chestnut) as he returns to his previous career as a medical doctor. With no consulting detective to bounce around after, he'll use his newfound understanding of investigative techniques to find treatments for rare disorders and diseases. It's a canny premise, particularly since the specific moment in which it's set during the Conan Doyle canon more than leaves the door open for Holmes to show up at some point down the road whenever the show needs a ratings bump. 

Here's the series' synopsis. 

Watson takes place six months after the death of the titular character’s friend and partner Sherlock Holmes at the hands of Moriarty. Dr. John Watson resumes his medical career as the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders. Watson’s old life isn’t done with him, though – Moriarty and Watson are set to write their own chapter of a story that has fascinated audiences for more than a century.

Alongside Chestnut, the series also stars British actor Ritchie Coster (The Great & the Small), Russian actor Eve Harlow (Next), and American actors Rochelle Aytes (Monarch), Peter Mark Kendall (The Americans), and Inga Schlingmann (Take Two).

All the movies and TV shows primarily focused on Holmes, and Watson is a very complimentary character,” Chestnut told Deadline earlier this Fall. “This is Watson front and center, and it’s told from Watson’s perspective and a medical investigation perspective. That’s what makes it different.”

Showrunner Craig Sweeny (The Code) wrote the series premiere episode, which is directed by Larry Teng (Nancy Drew). Sweeny, Teng, and Chestnut all serve as executive producers, alongside Sallie Patrick, Shäron Moalem MD, PhD, Brian Morewitz and Aaron Kaplan for Kapital Entertainment. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. 

Watson will premiere on Sunday, January 26, 2025, immediately following the conclusion of the AFC Championship Game (one of the few helpful launchpads still available in the world of broadcast television). The series will begin airing weekly installments in its regular timeslot beginning Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET.