CBS Sets Up an Unexpectedly Fun Sherlock Holmes Take in 'Watson'

Everyone should consider the Sherlock Holmes pantheon of remakes and adaptations as a Baskin-Robins of choice. We'd all be happier; there are enough retellings to pick their favorite flavor. Don't judge someone if they prefer mint chocolate chip (or say Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular detective) over Rocky Road (obviously, Robert Downey Jr.), or even if someone goes with Rainbow Sherbet (Johnny Lee Miller). As long as we all agree that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original books are the ultimate canon, there's enough variety among the subsequent interpretations of his work for everyone to have fun. 

Fun is exactly what CBS is doing with their latest endeavor into the Sherlock Holmes library. After seven seasons of Elementary, which gave us the inspired choice of Lucy Liu as Watson and Game of Thrones alum Natalie Dormer as Moriarty, the eye network re-enters the British detective game with Watson. Morris Chestnut stars as the eponymous sidekick, and the series kicks off with Holmes' alleged death, which is depicted very similarly to the final events of Doyle's The Fall. Watson watches hopelessly as Holmes and Moriarty tumble over a cliff, presumably to an untimely end. 

In Watson, Holmes' dearest friend also jumps into the water and suffers a traumatic brain injury from the impact. He is fished out and gifted a world-class medical clinic when Holmes and Moriarty are assumed dead. He heads back to the United States to resume being a doctor and put solving mysteries to bed. But this is CBS, the ultimate home of the procedural, and do you know what is better than a crime procedural? A show that is a crime and medical procedural at the same time. That is procedural squared, my friends. We are solving mysteries of all kinds here, so buckle up. 

To help Watson solve the medical mysteries, he has a team of junior doctors: neurologist Ingrid Darian (Eve Harlow), who is also trying to help Watson recover his memories from his tumble into the water after Sherlock Holmes, twins Dr. Stephens (yes, with an s! Watson hates it as much as we do) and Adam Croft (both played by Peter Mark Kendall), and immunologist Sasha Lubbock (Inga Schlingmann). Watson's ex-wife, Mary (Rochelle Aytes), also helps run the clinic. Meanwhile, Ritchie Coster steps in as Shinwell Johnson, Watson's strongman and the only member of the current team with a depth of knowledge about Watson's time with Sherlock Holmes and Scotland Yard. 

The first patient of the week proves Watson is as adept at medical phenomena as he is at finding missing relatives for potential bone marrow transplants. It also gives us a chance to get to know the junior doctors. Sasha was born in China but raised in the wealthiest suburb of Dallas by her adoptive parents. The twins are opposites in personality and very frosty with each other because Adam, the twin without glasses, is dating Stephens' ex. Ingrid lied on her resume to get the job, but as the most accomplished neurologist in the country, she doesn't let Watson get away with his games. The good doctor is observing all of them in a "nature vs. nurture" experiment, but what that has to do with the overall plot or the disappearance of Sherlock Holmes remains a mystery for later in the season. 

The first set of patients we see at the clinic survive the complicated and tense dynamics between the team. They had a genetic allergic reaction to some deviled eggs at a baby shower. Still, it took the doctors an extra round of diagnostic brainstorming to figure it out because the women who thought they were cousins were half-sisters. There was also something in there about a cat that catches dead birds that complicated their symptoms, but all of that was just to prove that Watson notices details! He's the sidekick of Sherlock Holmes, in case you forgot, and he is good at picking up on things that other people overlook. 

The case of the week doesn't matter because every Sherlock Holmes tale will be judged by the same thing: how good is Moriarty challenging our lead detective? In the case of Watson, they've cast Randall Park as the sociopathic doctor. Everyone's favorite substitute-Jim-Halpert is taking his turn as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson's arch nemesis, which is coo-coo bananas… and I am so here for it. It's a wild twist that should bring viewers back, at least for a second look. At the very least, we must know why Shinwell is helping Moriarty. Is it blackmail? Is it part of Sherlock's will? How long will it take Watson to realize his closest ally is working with the enemy?

While Watson is paying serious homage to the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle canon, this show will not stay faithful to the source material. However, it doesn't have to. Again, there's a whole ice cream shop of variations if you want something that's a strict retelling. But Watson is out to have some fun, whether the show is conscious of it or not. Please don't take it too seriously or keep your eyes on the details, and you, too, can have a great time on this wild ride. 

Watson will return with its second episode on Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS and continue with new episodes every Sunday after. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Paramount+.