'Hotel Portofino' Star Joins 'Young Sherlock's Family Affair

Just when you think there couldn’t possibly be more to say about a certain deerstalker-wearing British detective, another adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes enters the ring. This time around, Amazon Prime is plumbing the depths of Sherlock’s early life for the upcoming series Young Sherlock. The series is based on the Young Sherlock Holmes book series, which follows the young detective from age fourteen through his days at university. Though Sherlock is usually a somewhat solitary fellow, the series has begun to fill out the cast with the people who populate his world, namely, his parents. Just what every teenage detective needs: mom and dad looking over his shoulder!

The actor playing Young Sherlock is old news. Amazon announced that Hero Fiennes Tiffin would play the role earlier this summer. Now we know his parents will be played by Joseph Fiennes as Sherlock’s father, Silas, and Natascha McElhone as Sherlock’s mother, Cordelia. If that last name “Fiennes” sounds familiar, that’s because it is! Hero Fiennes Tiffin is the son of film director Martha Finnes,  who is, yes, the older sister of Joseph, making him Hero's uncle. And yes, they are all related to acclaimed actor of the stage and screen, Ralph Fiennes, who is the eldest of the six siblings and also Hero's uncle. (Joseph is the youngest, by the way.) 

Joseph Fiennes, who you may know from roles in The Handmaid's Tale and Camelot, has a full slate coming up because he will also star in an upcoming BBC adaptation of Dear England, a play about England football manager Gareth Southgate. As for Natascha McElhone, you’ve likely seen her in major roles in shows including Hotel Portofino, The Crown, and Designated Survivor. 

The synopsis so far reads as follows:

At age 19, Sherlock Holmes is disgraced, raw, unfiltered, and unformed, when he finds himself caught up in a murder mystery at Oxford University, which threatens his freedom. Diving into his first-ever case with a wild lack of discipline, Sherlock manages to unravel a globe-trotting conspiracy that will change his life forever.

There’s no word yet on how big a role Sherlock’s parents will play in the series, but the most recent Young Sherlock novel saw Sherlock tackling a case that hit close to home, with mysterious deaths and disappearances plaguing his family. That book takes place while Sherlock is a university student, which is also the slice of his life that the series will draw from, so it’s not out of the question that the series might borrow from that plot.

Matthew Parkhill is the series's writer, showrunner, and executive producer, with Guy Ritchie, who directed the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film and subsequent sequel starring Robert Downey Jr., helming all episodes.

Filming on Young Sherlock is expected to commence later this year.