Sherlock (TV Series)

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''Sherlock'' is a British

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series based on

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

detective stories. Created by

Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...

and

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series ''Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...

, it stars

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Oli ...

as Sherlock Holmes and

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most not ...

as Doctor John Watson. Thirteen episodes have been produced, with four three-part series airing from 2010 to 2017 and a special episode that aired on 1 January 2016. The series is set in the present day, while the one-off special features a Victorian period fantasy resembling the original Holmes stories. ''Sherlock'' is produced by the British network

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

, along with

Hartswood Films Hartswood Films is a British television production company founded by Beryl Vertue in 1979. They have also produced dramas such as '' Jekyll'', as well as documentaries, and the 1990s ITV/BBC sitcom ''Men Behaving Badly''. In 2009, Hartswood opened ...

, with Moffat, Gatiss, Sue Vertue and

Rebecca Eaton Rebecca Eaton (born November 7, 1947) is an American television producer and film producer best known for introducing American audiences to British costume and countryside dramas as executive producer of the PBS ''Masterpiece'' series. In 2011 ...

serving as executive producers. The series is supported by the American station

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship property of the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns Boston's se ...

Boston for its '' Masterpiece''

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, where it also airs in the United States. The series is primarily filmed in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, with North Gower Street in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

used for exterior shots of Holmes and Watson's 221B Baker Street residence. ''Sherlock'' has been praised for the quality of its writing, acting, and directing. It has been nominated for numerous awards including

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

BAFTAs The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

and a Golden Globe, winning several awards across a variety of categories. The show won in three categories at the

66th Primetime Emmy Awards The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2013 until May 31, 2014, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Monday, August 25, 2014, at the Nok ...

including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Cumberbatch, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Freeman and Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Moffat. Two years later, it won Outstanding Television Movie. In addition, the show was also honoured with a Peabody Award in 2011. The third series became the UK's most watched drama series since 2001. ''Sherlock'' has been sold to 180 territories. All of the series have been released on DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

, alongside

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prop ...

editions of selected original Conan Doyle stories and an original soundtrack composed by

David Arnold David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is a British film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films, as well as ''Stargate'' (1994), '' Independence Day'' (1996), ''Godzilla'' (1998) and the television series ''Little Britain'' ...

and Michael Price. In January 2014, the show launched its official

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

called ''Sherlock: The Network''.

Premise

''Sherlock'' depicts "consulting detective"

(

) solving various mysteries in modern-day London. Holmes is assisted by his

flatmate A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dormmate, suitemate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Briti ...

and friend, Dr John Watson (

), who has returned from military service in Afghanistan with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

. Although

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (

Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he star ...

) and others are suspicious of Holmes at first, over time, his exceptional intellect and bold powers of observation persuade them of his value. In part through Watson's

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

documenting their adventures, Holmes becomes a reluctant celebrity with the press reporting on his cases and eccentric personal life. Both ordinary people and the British government ask for his help. Although the series depicts a variety of crimes and perpetrators, Holmes's conflict with his

archenemy In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional cha ...

Jim Moriarty James Moriarty (born 20 June 1953) is a New Zealand actor and theatre director, who began acting professionally in 1967. He came to national attention and is probably best known for his role as the school teacher Riki Winiata in the 1970s soap ...

( Andrew Scott) is a recurring feature.

Molly Hooper The following is a list and description of the characters of '' Sherlock'', a British television series that started airing on BBC One in July 2010. The series is a contemporary adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyl ...

(

Louise Brealey Louise Brealey (born 27 March 1979), also credited as Loo Brealey, is an English actress, writer and journalist. She played Molly Hooper in '' Sherlock'', Cass in ''Back'', Scottish professor Jude McDermid in ''Clique'', Gillian Chamberlain in ...

), a

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

at St. Bart's Hospital, occasionally assists Holmes in his cases. Other recurring roles include

Una Stubbs Una Stubbs (1 May 1937 – 12 August 2021) was an English actress, television personality and dancer who appeared on British television and in the theatre, and occasionally in films. She became known after appearing in the film '' Summer Holiday ...

Mrs Hudson Mrs. Hudson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. She is the landlady of 221B Baker Street, the London residence in which Sherlock Holmes lives. Mrs. Hudson appears or is mentioned in man ...

, Holmes and Watson's landlady, and series co-creator

as Holmes's elder brother Mycroft.

Production

Conception and development

Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, Sherlock Holmes fans with experience of adapting or using

Victorian literature Victorian literature refers to English literature during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). The 19th century is considered by some to be the Golden Age of English Literature, especially for British novels. It was in the Victorian era tha ...

for television, devised the concept of the series. Moffat had previously adapted the ''

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

'' for the 2007 series '' Jekyll'', while Gatiss had written the

Dickensian Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' episode "

The Unquiet Dead "The Unquiet Dead" is the third episode of the first series of the British science-fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'', first broadcast on 9 April 2005 on BBC One. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Euros Lyn. In the episo ...

". Moffat and Gatiss, both ''Doctor Who'' writers, discussed plans for a Holmes adaptation during their numerous train journeys to

where ''Doctor Who'' production is based. While they were in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

for an awards ceremony, producer Sue Vertue, who is married to Moffat, encouraged Moffat and Gatiss to develop the project themselves before another creative team had the same idea.Sue Vertue, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. DVD audio commentary for "A Study in Pink" Moffat and Gatiss invited Stephen Thompson to write for the series in September 2008.Thompson, Steve "Introduction" In: Gatiss has criticised recent television adaptations of the Conan Doyle stories as "too reverential and too slow", aiming instead to be as irreverent to the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

as the 1930s and 1940s films starring

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

and

Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series ''The New Adventures of Sherlock ...

, which were mostly set in the then-contemporary

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

era. Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock uses modern technology, such as texting, the internet and

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

to solve crimes. Paul McGuigan, who directed two episodes of ''Sherlock'', says that this is in keeping with Conan Doyle's character, pointing out that " the books he would use any device possible and he was always in the lab doing experiments. It's just a modern day version of it. He will use the tools that are available to him today in order to find things out." The update maintains various elements of the original stories, such as the Baker Street address and Holmes's adversary Moriarty. Some of these elements are transposed to the present day: for example, Martin Freeman's Watson has returned from military service in Afghanistan. While discussing the fact that the original Watson was invalided home after serving in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

(1878–80), Gatiss realised that " is the same war now, I thought. The same unwinnable war." ''Sherlock'' was announced as a single 60-minute drama production at the

Edinburgh International Television Festival The Edinburgh International Television Festival is an annual media event held in the United Kingdom each August which brings together delegates from the television and digital world to debate the major issues facing the industry. The Festival ...

in August 2008, with broadcast set for mid- to late 2009. The intention was to produce a series of six 60-minute episodes should the pilot prove to be successful. The first version of the pilot—reported by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' to have cost £800,000—led to rumours within the BBC and wider media that ''Sherlock'' was a potential disaster. The BBC decided not to transmit the pilot, requesting a reshoot and a total of three 90-minute episodes. The original pilot was included on the DVD of the first series. During the audio commentary, the creative team said that the BBC were "very happy" with the pilot but asked them to change the format. Critic Mark Lawson observes that the pilot that was on air was "substantially expanded and rewritten, and completely reimagined in look, pace and sound". In July 2009, the BBC drama department announced plans for three 90-minute episodes, to be broadcast in 2010. Moffat had previously announced that if a series of ''Sherlock'' was commissioned, Gatiss would take over the duties of executive producer so that he could concentrate on producing ''Doctor Who''.

Cast and characters

Moffat and Vertue became interested in casting Cumberbatch as the title character after watching his performance in the 2007 film ''

Atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

''. The actor was cast after reading the script for the creative team."Unlocking Sherlock", documentary included on the Series 1 DVD/Blu-Ray release The part is modelled as a charismatic secondary psychopath or "High functioning sociopath" as Sherlock self-describes, unlike Doyle's rendering as a primary psychopath, thereby allowing more opportunity or ambiguity for traits of empathy. "Cumberbatch", says ''The Guardian'', "has a reputation for playing odd, brilliant men very well, and his Holmes is cold, techie, slightly Aspergerish". Cumberbatch said, "There's a great charge you get from playing him, because of the volume of words in your head and the speed of thought—you really have to make your connections incredibly fast. He is one step ahead of the audience and of anyone around him with normal intellect. They can't quite fathom where his leaps are taking him."

Piers Wenger Piers Wenger is a British television executive who serves as controller of BBC drama commissioning. Early life Wenger was born Piers John Wenger in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England on 29 June 1972. Career Wenger was appointed as contro ...

, head of drama at

BBC Cymru Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is b ...

, described the series's rendering of Sherlock as "a dynamic

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

in a modern world, an arrogant, genius sleuth driven by a desire to prove himself cleverer than the perpetrator and the police—everyone in fact". Addressing changing social attitudes and broadcasting regulations, Cumberbatch's Holmes replaced the

pipe Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circular ...

with multiple

nicotine patch A nicotine patch is a transdermal patch that releases nicotine into the body through the skin. It is used in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), a process for smoking cessation. Endorsed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ...

es. The writers believed that Sherlock should not talk like "a completely modern person", says Moffat, but were initially intent that "he never sounded like he's giving a lecture". Moffat turned the character "more Victorian" in the second series, capitalising more on Cumberbatch's "beautiful voice" to make it sound like "he's giving a lecture". In an interview with ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', co-creator Mark Gatiss says that they experienced more difficulty finding the right actor to play Dr John Watson than they had for the title character. Producer Sue Vertue said, "Benedict was the only person we actually saw for he part ofSherlock... Once Benedict was there it was really just making sure we got the chemistry for John atson��and I think you get it as soon as they come into the room, you can see that they work together". Several actors auditioned for the part of Watson, and Martin Freeman eventually took the role. Steven Moffat said that

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor, eleventh incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targarye ...

was the first to audition unsuccessfully. He was rejected for being too "barmy", as the producers required someone "straighter" for Watson. Shortly after, Moffat cast Smith as the

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Docto ...

in ''Doctor Who''. The writers said that Freeman's casting developed the way in which Cumberbatch played Holmes. The theme of friendship appealed to both Gatiss and Moffat.Moffat, Steven "Introduction" In: Gatiss asserted the importance of achieving the correct tone for the character. "Watson is not an idiot, although it's true that Conan Doyle always took the piss out of him", said Gatiss. "But only an idiot would surround himself with idiots." Moffat said that Freeman is "the sort of opposite of Benedict in everything except the amount of talent... Martin finds a sort of poetry in the ordinary man. I love the fastidious realism of everything he does." Freeman describes his character as a "moral compass" for Sherlock, who does not always consider the morality and ethics of his actions. Rupert Graves was cast as DI Greg Lestrade. The writers referred to the character as "Inspector Lestrade" during development until Gatiss realised that in contemporary England the character would have the title "Detective Inspector". Moffat and Gatiss pointed out that Lestrade does not appear often in the stories and is quite inconsistently portrayed in them. They decided to go with the version that appeared in "

The Adventure of the Six Napoleons "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in ''Collier's'' in th ...

": a man who is frustrated by Holmes but admires him, and whom Holmes considers as the best person at

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

. Several candidates took a comedic tack in their auditions, but the creative team preferred the gravitas that Graves brought to the role. His first name is revealed to be Greg in "The Hounds of Baskerville". Andrew Scott made his first appearance as Jim Moriarty in "The Great Game". Moffat said, "We knew what we wanted to do with Moriarty from the very beginning. Moriarty is usually a rather dull, rather posh villain so we thought someone who was genuinely properly frightening. Someone who's an absolute psycho." Moffat and Gatiss were originally not going to put a confrontation between Moriarty and Holmes into these three episodes, but after seeing Scott's audition they realised that they "just had to do a confrontation scene. We had to do a version of the scene in '

The Final Problem "The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom, and ''McClure's'' in the United States, under the title ...

' in which the two archenemies meet each other." The remainder of the regular cast includes Una Stubbs (who has known Cumberbatch since he was four years old, as she had worked with his mother

Wanda Ventham Wanda Ventham (born 5 August 1935) is an English actress with many roles on British television since beginning her career in the 1950s. She played Colonel Virginia Lake in the 1970s science-fiction television series ''UFO'' and had a recurring ...

) as Mrs Hudson and co-creator Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes.

Vinette Robinson Vinette Robinson is a British actress, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Her TV appearances include roles in '' Sherlock'', ''Black Mirror'', and as civil rights campaigner Rosa Parks in the ''Doctor Who'' episode "Rosa". Early life Robi ...

Jonathan Aris Jonathan Aris is a British actor who has appeared in films, television and the theatre. He has narrated three TV documentaries produced and aired by the National Geographic Channel, and appears as Philip Anderson in the BBC television series ...

and

play the recurring roles of Sergeant Sally Donovan, Philip Anderson and Molly Hooper, respectively.

Amanda Abbington Amanda Abbington (born Amanda Jane Smith; 28 February 1974) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Miss Mardle in ''Mr Selfridge'' and Mary Watson in '' Sherlock'', the BBC adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stor ...

, Freeman's then-real life partner, plays

Mary Morstan This article describes minor characters from the ''Sherlock Holmes'' stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works. The list excludes the titular character as well as Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade, M ...

, Watson's girlfriend and eventual wife. In series three,

and

Timothy Carlton Timothy Carlton Congdon Cumberbatch (born 4 October 1939) is an English actor. Early years Carlton was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, the son of Pauline Ellen Laing (née Congdon), who died on 11 October 2007, and Henry Carlton Cumberb ...

, Cumberbatch's actual parents, are introduced as Sherlock and Mycroft's parents. Guest appearances included Phil Davis as Jefferson Hope,

Paul Chequer Paul Chequer is an English actor best known for starring in the British drama '' As If'' as Jamie Collier on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2004 and the BBC Three drama ''Sinchronicity'', as Nathan, in 2006. He later appeared as Eugene Jones in the Brit ...

as DI Dimmock,

Zoe Telford Zoe Telford is an English actress. Early life and education Telford was born in Norwich, England. She started training as a dancer at a very young age and continued until she was in her 20s. She attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Art ...

as Sarah,

Gemma Chan Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982) is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Chan attended the Newstead Wood School for Girls and studied law at Worcester College, Oxford before choosing to pursue a career in acting instead, enrolling at t ...

as Soo Lin Yao,

John Sessions John Marshall (11 January 1953 – 2 November 2020), better known by the stage name John Sessions, was a British actor and comedian. He was known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', as a panellist o ...

as Kenny Prince,

Haydn Gwynne Haydn Gwynne is an English actress. She was nominated for the 1992 BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance for the comedy series '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1991), and won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Feature ...

as Miss Wenceslas,

Deborah Moore Deborah Maria Luisa Moore (born 27 October 1963) is an English actress. She is the daughter of actor Roger Moore and Italian actress Luisa Mattioli. Career She made her debut on TV as a child in ''The Persuaders!'' episode "The Long Goodbye" ...

Mark Gatiss, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. DVD audio commentary for "The Great Game" as one of Moriarty's victims and

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...

as the voice-over in the planetarium. Series two's "

A Scandal in Belgravia "A Scandal in Belgravia" is the first episode of the second series of the BBC crime drama series '' Sherlock'', which follows the modern-day adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and was first broadcast by BBC One on 1 January 2012. It was written by ...

" featured

Lara Pulver Lara Pulver (born 1 September 1980) is an English actress. She has played Erin Watts in the BBC spy drama '' Spooks'' and Irene Adler on BBC's TV adaptation '' Sherlock''. She won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical i ...

Irene Adler Irene Adler is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A former opera singer and actress, she was featured in the short story " A Scandal in Bohemia", published in July 1891. Adler is one of the ...

, while "

The Hounds of Baskerville "The Hounds of Baskerville" is the second episode of the second series of the BBC crime drama series '' Sherlock'', which follows the modern-day adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and was first broadcast by BBC One on 8 January 2012. It was writ ...

" featured

Russell Tovey Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is an English actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama '' Being Human'', Rudge in both the stage and film versions of ''The Histo ...

as Henry Knight. In the final episode of series two, the role of Rufus Bruhl was played by Edward Holtom, while

Katherine Parkinson Katherine Jane Parkinson (born 9 March 1978) is an English actress. She appeared in Channel 4's '' The IT Crowd'' comedy series as Jen Barber, for which she received a British Comedy Best TV Actress Award in 2009 and 2014, and was nominated twice ...

played journalist Kitty Riley. The first episode of series three featured

Derren Brown Derren Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English mentalist, illusionist, painter, and author. He began performing in 1992, making his television debut with ''Derren Brown: Mind Control'' in 2000, and has since produced several more shows f ...

Production design and filming

The show was produced by Hartswood Films for BBC Wales, while

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

also provided co-production funding. Production was also co-produced by

, a network of public-service broadcasters in the United States, for

's ''

Masterpiece Mystery! ''Mystery!'' (also written ''MYSTERY!'') is a television anthology series produced by WGBH-TV, WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States. The series was created as a mystery fiction, mystery, police drama, police and crime drama spin-off of the ...

'' strand. Filming of the pilot episode, written by Moffat and directed by

Coky Giedroyc Mary Rose Helen "Coky" Giedroyc (; born 6 February 1963) is an English director known for her work on ''Women Talking Dirty'', '' The Virgin Queen'', '' The Nativity'', and ''Penny Dreadful''. Early life Giedroyc was born in Kowloon on 6 Febru ...

, commenced in January 2009. The first set of three episodes entered production 12 months later, in January 2010. Paul McGuigan directed the first and third episodes and

Euros Lyn Euros Lyn (; born 1971) is a Welsh film and television director, best known for his work in '' Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', ''Black Mirror'', '' Daredevil'', ''His Dark Materials'' and '' Heartstopper''. Early life Lyn was born in Cardiff. Hi ...

directed the second. The three episodes were filmed in reverse order of their broadcast. Shooting Sherlock

Gatiss says that they wanted to "fetishise modern London in the way that the period versions fetishise Victorian London". Production was based at Hartswood Films' Cardiff production unit, Hartswood Films West, which was opened in late 2009 to take advantage of the BBC's planned Cardiff Bay "drama village". Production of the first two series was based at

Upper Boat Studios Upper Boat Studios was a television studio complex leased to the BBC in mid-2006, and formerly operated by BBC Wales. It is located in Upper Boat, a village on the outskirts of Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, near Cardiff in Wales. The studios ...

, where ''Doctor Who'' had been produced. Cardiff was more economical than in London, with some good matches for parts of London. Some architecture could not be faked, so location shooting in the English capital was necessary. The location shots for 221B Baker Street were filmed at 187 North Gower Street – Baker Street was impractical because of heavy traffic, and the number of things labelled "Sherlock Holmes", which would need to be disguised. Executive producer

Beryl Vertue Beryl Frances Vertue ('' née'' Johnson; 8 April 1931 – 12 February 2022) was an English television producer, media executive, and agent. She was founder and chairman of the independent television production company Hartswood Films. Early li ...

explains how it was important to design the entirety of Sherlock's flat as a contemporary set, yet still convey his eccentricity. He would not, she says, live somewhere "too suburban" or "too modern". Speedy's, the sandwich shop below the flat used as Holmes's residence, reported a sharp rise in new customers who recognised it from the show. Costumes for the pilot were designed by BAFTA Cymru award-winning costume designer Ray Holman. Cumberbatch wore a £1,000

Belstaff Belstaff is a clothing brand owned by British chemicals company Ineos. The company was founded in 1924 by Eli Belovitch and his son-in-law Harry Grosberg in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The name Belstaff is a combination of Eli's sur ...

coat in the series. Sarah Arthur, the series' costume designer, explained how she achieved the detective's look: "Holmes wouldn't have any interest in fashion so I went for classic suits with a modern twist: narrow-leg trousers and a two-button, slim-cut jacket. I also went for slim-cut shirts and a sweeping coat for all the action scenes—it looks great against the London skyline." The writers say that they did not want to force modernity onto the story. There were some creative challenges, such as the decision to include the sign "221B" on Holmes's front door. Gatiss and Moffat reflect that in the modern world the door would only display the number of the house, and there would be doorbells for each flat. The full house number is so iconic that they felt unable to change it. The writers also decided that the lead characters would address each other by their first names, rather than the traditional Holmes and Watson. This was also reflected in the title of the series. Director Paul McGuigan came up with the idea of putting text messages on the screen instead of having cut-away shots of a hand holding the phone. Martin Freeman + Benedict Cumberbatch

The producers found it difficult to coordinate the schedules of the principal players and Moffat and Gatiss for a second series. Cumberbatch and Freeman both worked on the 2012 film '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'', and Moffat continued as ''Doctor Who''s showrunner and head writer. In response to the time pressure, ''

'' asserted, the series "features reworkings of three of Conan Doyle's most recognised tales". Gatiss says that there had been an argument for producing these tales over three years, but Moffat explained that they rejected "deferred pleasure". The relationship between Holmes and Watson developed during the second series, with Watson being less amazed by Sherlock's deductive abilities; Watson acted as the primary detective in the second episode, "The Hounds of Baskerville". The cast and production team were more confident during the second series' production following the positive audience and critical reaction to the first series."Sherlock Uncovered", documentary on ''Sherlock'' series 2 DVD/Blu-ray release

Music

The theme and incidental music were composed by

and Michael Price. Arnold explains that he and Price worked with the producers to "come up with a central theme and character" for the series, then found what was "going to be the defining sound of this show". Pieces were often constructed using

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, but the tracks used for the show were recorded using real musicians, Arnold says, to bring the music "to life". Similarly, Price comments that the musicians can adapt their performance of a score by responding to footage from the show.

Episodes

Four series, each consisting of three episodes, have been produced. The first series was initially broadcast in July and August 2010 on the BBC, later premiering on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States in October 2010. A second series of three episodes was first broadcast in the UK in January 2012, and then in the U.S. during May 2012. The third series premiered in the UK on 1 January 2014 and in the US on 19 January 2014. The series has been sold to 180 territories. A special episode premiered on 1 January 2016, on BBC One and PBS, marking the first time the series has aired on the same day in the UK and U.S. The fourth series began airing on BBC One and PBS on 1 January 2017 and concluded on 15 January 2017.

Series 1 (2010)

The first episode, "

A Study in Pink "A Study in Pink" is the first episode of the television series '' Sherlock'' and first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 25 July 2010. It introduces the main characters and resolves a murder mystery. It is loosely based upon the first Sherlock ...

", loosely based upon the first Sherlock Holmes novel ''

A Study in Scarlet ''A Study in Scarlet'' is an 1887 detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in literature. The book's title der ...

'', was written by Moffat and directed by Paul McGuigan. The story depicts the introduction of Sherlock to John, and them entering a

flatshare A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dormmate, suitemate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Briti ...

at Baker Street in London, and then their investigation into a series of deaths, initially believed to be suicides. Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's older brother, played by

, also appears for the first time. The episode was first broadcast simultaneously on BBC One and BBC HD on 25 July 2010. The second episode, "

The Blind Banker "The Blind Banker" is the second episode of the television series '' Sherlock,'' first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 1 August 2010. It was written by Stephen Thompson and directed by Euros Lyn. ''Sherlock'' is a loose adaptation of Arthur ...

", was first broadcast on 1 August 2010. Written by Stephen Thompson and directed by Euros Lyn, the episode depicts Holmes being hired by an old university acquaintance to investigate a mysterious break-in at a bank in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. The first series concluded with "

The Great Game The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...

", first broadcast on 8 August 2010. The episode introduces the archenemy character, James Moriarty (played by Andrew Scott) to the series, who sets Holmes deadlines to solve a series of apparently unrelated cases. Written by Mark Gatiss and directed by McGuigan, "The Great Game" ends with a cliffhanger in which Sherlock and Moriarty reach a standoff involving a bomb attached to a vest removed moments earlier from Watson.

Series 2 (2012)

After the high ratings for "A Study in Pink", the BBC was reportedly eager to produce more episodes. On 10 August 2010, it was confirmed that ''Sherlock'' had been renewed for a second series. At the 2011 convention, Gatiss confirmed which stories would be adapted, and that the writers of the first series would each write an episode for series two. Acknowledging that " A Scandal in Bohemia", "

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is se ...

" and "

" are amongst the best-known Holmes stories, Gatiss explained, "We knew after having a successful first run that the natural order would be to do three of the most famous

tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

" "There's the question of how to go out on a cliffhanger and then the thematic things of the three stories, where we were trying to get to and what Sherlock and John's relationship is a little further on. You can't just go back to: 'You have no emotions.' 'I don't care.' You've got to move on somewhere and make sure the other characters have something of a journey too." Paul McGuigan directed the first two episodes, and ''Doctor Who'' director

Toby Haynes Toby Haynes is a British television director, notable for his work on ''Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', '' Being Human,'' ''Black Mirror'', and '' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell''. He also directed the Channel 4/ HBO television film '' Brexit: The Unc ...

handled the last one. The second series of three 90-minute episodes was initially planned to air in late 2011, but was delayed until early January 2012. "

", written by Steven Moffat and directed by Paul McGuigan, was first broadcast on 1 January 2012. Loosely based on "A Scandal in Bohemia", the episode depicts Holmes's quest to retrieve compromising photos of a minor royal held on the camera phone of Irene Adler (

), a ruthless and brilliant

dominatrix A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...

who also trades in classified information extracted from her rich and powerful clients. Barts

Mark Gatiss wrote "

", which investigates the strange activities at a military base. Aware that ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'', first published in 1902, was one of the most famous of Conan Doyle's original stories, Gatiss felt a greater responsibility to include familiar elements of the story than he does when adapting the lesser-known stories. Russell Tovey appeared as Henry Knight, a man whose father was ripped apart by a gigantic hound on

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

20 years earlier. Directed by McGuigan, the episode was first broadcast on 8 January 2012. The second series concluded with "

The Reichenbach Fall "The Reichenbach Fall" is the third and final episode of the second series of the BBC television series '' Sherlock''. It was written by Stephen Thompson and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and ...

". Steve Thompson wrote the episode, which was directed by Toby Haynes, who had previously directed many of Moffat's ''Doctor Who'' episodes. First broadcast on 15 January 2012, the episode follows Moriarty's plot to discredit and kill Sherlock Holmes, concluding with Holmes appearing to die by suicide. The episode was inspired by Conan Doyle's story "The Final Problem", in which Holmes and Moriarty are presumed to have fallen to their deaths from the

Reichenbach Falls The Reichenbach Falls (german: Reichenbachfälle) are a waterfall cascade of seven steps on the stream called Rychenbach in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. They drop over a total height of about . At , the upper falls, known as th ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Moffat felt that he and co-creator Gatiss had outdone Conan Doyle in their version of Holmes's fall and Moffat added that, in that much-discussed sequence, there was still "a clue everybody's missed".

Christmas mini-episode (2013)

BBC One premiered a seven-minute ''Sherlock'' mini-episode over the 2013 Christmas period entitled " Many Happy Returns". The episode is available via BBC iPlayer,

BBC Red Button BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to cl ...

service, and BBC's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, and acts as a prequel to the third series. The synopsis for the episode reads "Sherlock has been gone for two years. But someone isn't quite convinced that he's dead." The 'someone' turns out to be

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

, the forensics technician from series one and two, who has lost his job due to his obsessive conviction that Sherlock still lives. He had a long-standing mistrust of Sherlock, yet is one of the few people who believes Sherlock is alive, and is seen throughout the episode trying to convince Lestrade. Anderson tracks him via various mysterious events, from Tibet to New Delhi to Germany, in which Sherlock seems to be involved and points out that the incidents are getting progressively closer to London.

Series 3 (2014)

After the end of the final episode of the second series, Moffat and Gatiss both announced on Twitter that a third series had been commissioned at the same time as series two, and a part of the resolution to "The Reichenbach Fall" was filmed concurrently with series two. Without revealing whether Moriarty also faked his own death at the end of series two, Moffat suggested that Moriarty will not feature heavily in future series of ''Sherlock''. "

The Empty Hearse "The Empty Hearse" is the first episode of the third series of the BBC television series '' Sherlock''. It was written by Mark Gatiss and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and Mark Gatiss as Mycro ...

", written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Jeremy Lovering, is the first episode of Series 3 and was first broadcast on 1 January 2014. Inspired by "

The Adventure of the Empty House "The Adventure of the Empty House", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as '' The Return of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in '' Collier's'' in ...

" by

, the episode follows Sherlock Holmes's return to London and reunion with John Watson, and their subsequent solving of an underground terrorist network. The episode achieved an official rating of 12.72 million viewers, making it the highest rated drama episode shown on UK television in 2014. In "

The Sign of Three "The Sign of Three" is the second episode of the third series of the BBC television series '' Sherlock''. It was written by Stephen Thompson, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman a ...

", written by Stephen Thompson, Mark Gatiss and

, Watson and Mary Morstan get married. The episode takes place during the wedding reception and the story is told through flashbacks. The episode title is inspired by ''

The Sign of the Four ''The Sign of the Four'' (1890), also called ''The Sign of Four'', is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective. Plot ...

'' and was first broadcast on 5 January 2014. The final episode "

His Last Vow "His Last Vow" is the third episode of the third series of the BBC Television series '' Sherlock'', which follows the modern-day adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The episode was first broadcast on 12 January 2014, on BBC One and Channel One. It ...

" was first broadcast on 12 January 2014, on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

, and written by Steven Moffat, directed by

Nick Hurran Nick Hurran (born 1959) is a British film and television director. His 1998 film ''Girls' Night'' was entered into the 48th Berlin International Film Festival. Hurran is married to a television producer, Michele Buck, with whom he has two child ...

and is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "

The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was originally published in ''Collier's'' in the United States on 26 March 1904, and in ''The Strand Magazine'' in ...

". This case leads Sherlock into conflict with Charles Augustus Magnussen (

Lars Mikkelsen Lars Dittmann Mikkelsen (born 6 May 1964) is a Danish actor. He has played Copenhagen mayoral election candidate Troels Hartmann in the drama series '' The Killing'', Charles Augustus Magnussen in the third series of '' Sherlock'', the Russian ...

), a "terrifying" villain who was introduced as an unnamed villain in episode one.

and Sherlock Holmes both break into Magnussen's office, where, having surprised each other, Mary shoots Sherlock. Later, Holmes deduces that Mary was formerly a

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

, and reveals this to Watson. Holmes and Watson try to get Magnussen arrested, but their attempt fails, and Holmes shoots Magnussen to stop him from blackmailing Mary Watson. Mycroft arranges that Sherlock will be exiled from the United Kingdom instead of being tried for murder. As Sherlock's plane takes off, every video screen in London broadcasts the image of Moriarty, and Sherlock is recalled to deal with the crisis associated with Moriarty's potential return. The third series aired in the United States on PBS over a period of three weeks, airing late January to early February 2014.

Special (2016)

On 2 July 2014, it was announced there would be a special episode broadcast between the third and fourth series. Filming began on 5 January 2015 and wrapped on 10 February 2015. Moffat confirmed the episode is set in Victorian London, saying, "The special is its own thing. We wouldn't have done the story we're doing, and the way we're doing it, if we didn't have this special. It's not part of the run of three episodes. So we had this to do it … It's kind of in its own little bubble." In October 2015, the title of the episode was announced. It was broadcast on 1 January 2016 at 9:00 pm local time on BBC One in the UK, and on

in the US. The episode was

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

in British cinemas on 1 January, and was shown on 5 and 6 January 2016 in selected cinemas throughout the US. Exclusive bonus material in the cinema presentation included a guided tour of 221B Baker Street from Steven Moffat and a look behind the scenes at how the special episode was made featuring all the lead cast and crew.

Series 4 (2017)

By October 2013, a fourth series was commissioned, with scripts planned. Moffat told ''The Telegraph'' in January 2014, "we're all keen to continue", but said it had been difficult to co-ordinate the lead actors' schedules. Filming began on 4 April 2016 at Pinewood Studio Wales, and lasted until 5 August. In May 2016 it was announced that

Toby Jones Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama '' Orlando'' in 1992. H ...

had been cast as a villain from

lore. The fourth series premiered on 1 January 2017, with "

The Six Thatchers "The Six Thatchers" is the first episode of the fourth series of the British television programme '' Sherlock'' and the eleventh episode overall. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC First, PBS and Channel One on 1 January 2017. Plot ...

". The second episode "

The Lying Detective "The Lying Detective" is the second episode of the fourth series of the British television series '' Sherlock'' and the twelfth episode overall. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC First, PBS and Channel One on 8 January 2017. Plot ...

" aired on 8 January 2017; the last episode "

" aired on 15 January 2017.

Future

In January 2014, Moffat stated that a fifth series had been plotted by himself and Gatiss; however, by the release of the fourth series in January 2017, they had not yet decided whether to produce it. Cumberbatch and Moffat in particular have expressed interest in continuing at some point in the future, but there are no immediate plans. In January 2019, Gatiss stated that due to the conflicting schedules of Cumberbatch and Freeman, a potential fifth series is still up in the air. Freeman has expressed the opinion that ''Sherlock'' is "never a completely shut door" and noted his interest in returning to the programme should the material be of sufficient quality.

Reception

Critical response

The show has received critical acclaim, sustaining positive reviews across its first three series. However, its fourth series received mixed reviews. Series one holds a

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

score of 85/100, based on 17 reviews, and series two scored 91/100, based on 24 reviews, while series three holds a score of 88/100, based on 22 reviews. The first series holds a 93% rating at critical aggregator site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the second holds a 94% rating, and the third series has a 91% approval rating. The fourth series holds a rating of 56%. The first episode rated highly on the

Appreciation Index The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...

. ''The Observer'' said the show was "a cross between ''

Withnail and I ''Withnail and I'' is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Loosely based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Gran ...

'' and '' The Bourne Ultimatum'', there is also a hint of ''Doctor Who'' about the drama; hardly surprising, since it has been written and created by ''Doctor Who'' writers Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat." ''The Guardian''s Dan Martin said, "It's early days, but the first of three 90-minute movies, 'A Study in Pink', is brilliantly promising. It has the finesse of '' Spooks'' but is indisputably Sherlock Holmes. The deduction sequences are ingenious, and the plot is classic Moffat intricacy." Tom Sutcliffe for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' wrote, "''Sherlock'' is a triumph, witty and knowing, without ever undercutting the flair and dazzle of the original. It understands that Holmes isn't really about plot but about charisma ... Flagrantly unfaithful to the original in some respects, ''Sherlock'' is wonderfully loyal to it in every way that matters." The lead actors were commended. Critic Victoria Thorpe said, "Freeman's dependable, capable Watson unlocks this modern Holmes, a man who now describes himself as 'a high-functioning

sociopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

'." Following the second series' opening episode, Sarah Crompton, for ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', asserts that "Cumberbatch is utterly credible as a man who lives entirely in his cerebellum with little regard for the world outside, mak ng''Sherlock'' the perfect depiction of Holmes for our times". David Weigand of the ''

SF Gate The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...

'' called Cumberbatch "A Sherlock for the 21st century." Jace Lacob of ''

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

'' wrote, "Back from the dead and better than ever." Conan Doyle fans were generally appreciative. Gwilym Mumford, for ''The Guardian'', suggested that "this has to do with the fact that Moffat and Gatiss are enormously knowledgeable about Conan Doyle's work, and their reimagining incorporates big- and small-screen adaptations of Holmes, as well as the original stories. As Gatiss puts it: 'Everything is canonical.' " Sarah Crompton, for ''The Telegraph'', identifies some of the jokes and allusions intended for fans. Commenting specifically on the second series' finale "The Reichenbach Fall", ''The Guardian''s Sam Wollaston praised the show's faithfulness to Conan Doyle, but also how "it will wander, taking in mobile phone technology and computer hacking ... But it doesn't feel like cheating; more like an open relationship, agreed by both parties." In 2019, ''Sherlock'' was ranked 60th on ''The Guardians list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century. Some psychologists have taken issue with Sherlock claiming to be "a high functioning sociopath", in response to being called a psychopath (this claim is asserted throughout the show). One in particular pointed out that sociopath is just an outdated term for psychopath, the fact that psychopaths do not admit their psychopathy, and that in general Sherlock does not evidence psychopathic behaviour. Specifically, his coldness is because of his assertion of logical reasoning, rather than an inability to feel otherwise, as well as emotions of guilt, regret and acceptance of failure he is shown to have.

Ratings

According to overnight data provided by the

Broadcasters' Audience Research Board The Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB) is a British organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1981 to replace two previous systems whereby ITV ratings were compil ...

(BARB), the highest overnight figure from the first series of ''Sherlock'' was 7.5 million for the opening episode, "A Study in Pink", whereas the second series averaged over 8 million viewers. The three episodes of series two were the three most watched programmes on iPlayer, the BBC's video-on-demand service, between January and April 2012. Its opening episode, "A Scandal in Belgravia", attracted controversy from the tabloid newspaper ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'', which reported that Irene Adler's nude scene early in the episode had been met with disapproval from some viewers who were concerned that it had been shown before the 9:00 pm watershed hour, before which adult-orientated content is not supposed to air. Some critics also took exception to Moffat's treatment of Irene Adler, arguing that she was sexualised, an argument rejected by others, including Moffat. The series' conclusion, "The Reichenbach Fall", in which Sherlock fakes his suicide by jumping from St Bartholomew's Hospital, led to speculation on forums, social networking sites and in newspaper articles about its resolution. The third series became the UK's most watched drama series since 2001. An average 11.82 million people watched the series, with about 12.72 million tuning in for the first episode. The 2016 New Year's Day special drew 11.64 million viewers. The fourth series opened with 11.3 million viewers for the first episode, but dropped to 5.9 million viewers by the final episode of the fourth series, the lowest overnight ever recorded by the show.

Accolades

In the 2011 BAFTA awards, the show as a whole won the award for Best Drama Series, while Freeman (as Dr Watson) won the award for the Best Supporting Actor. Cumberbatch was nominated for Best Actor. Andrew Scott won 2012's Best Supporting Actor, beating Freeman, for his work in the second series, which was nominated in other categories. Following multiple nominations for the

63rd Primetime Emmy Awards The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2010 until May 31, 2011, were held on Sunday, September 18, 2011, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Fox televised the c ...

(2011) and

64th Primetime Emmy Awards The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2011 until May 31, 2012, were held on Sunday, September 23, 2012 at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. ABC televised the cer ...

(2012), the show won multiple Emmys at the

(2014), including

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding pe ...

for Cumberbatch,

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Before 1975, supporting actors featured in a miniseries or movie were included in categories such as co ...

for Freeman and

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special This is a list of the winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Winners and nominations 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by network * HBO/H ...

for Moffat. It subsequently won the Emmy for Best Television Film at the

68th Primetime Emmy Awards The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2015 until May 31, 2016, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 18, 2016 at the Mi ...

(2016). The first series also won the

Arqiva Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquart ...

award for the "best terrestrial show" at the 2011 Edinburgh International Television Festival. "A Study in Pink" and "A Scandal in Belgravia" were nominated for

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s in a variety of categories. The series won several BAFTA Cymru awards: television drama, Director: Fiction (Euros Lyn), Director of Photography: Fiction (Steve Lawes), Production Design (Arwel Wyn Jones), and Make Up & Hair (Claire Pritchard-Jones). Charlie Phillips won the Editing: Fiction category at the British Academy Television Craft Awards. The show was also nominated for the YouTube Audience Award. In August 2020, ''Sherlock'' was commemorated on series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Six stamps feature characters played by Cumberbatch, Freeman, Abbington and Scott, and the stamps feature secret storylines revealed under UV light.

Home media and merchandise

DVD and Blu-ray release

In November 2018, Series 1 was released in 4k UHD Blu-ray by the BBC. Due to poor sales figures, this is the only series on 4K with no current plans for a future release.

Books and websites

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasti ...

published some of Conan Doyle's original collections and novels as

editions, with cover art featuring Cumberbatch and Freeman. ''A Study in Scarlet'' and ''

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, w ...

'' were released in autumn 2011, with introductions by Moffat and Gatiss respectively. ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'', ''The Sign of Four'' and ''

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes ''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published late in 1893 with 1894 date. It was first published in the UK by G. Newnes Ltd., and was published in the US by Harper & ...

'' were released in March 2012, with introductions by Cumberbatch, Freeman and Thompson respectively. Two more books, '' The Return of Sherlock Holmes'' and ''

His Last Bow ''His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1917 collection of previously published Sherlock Holmes stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, including the titular short story, " His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Hol ...

'', were released in December 2013, ahead of the premiere of the third series. They featured introductions by Gatiss and Moffat respectively. According to ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'', the popularity of ''Sherlock'' has led to a resurgence in the sales of the original Conan Doyle stories. Publishers and retailers reported a 180% rise in sales of Sherlock Holmes books during the first series' broadcast. ''Sherlock: The Casebook'', a companion book to the series written by

Guy Adams Guy Adams (born 6 January 1976) is an English author, comedian, and actor, possibly best known for the novel ''The World House''. Adams is also a regular writer for Big Finish productions, who produce audio plays based on ''Doctor Who'', as we ...

, was published by BBC Books in the United Kingdom in October 2012. Adams, Guy, ''Sherlock: The Casebook'', BBC Books, 25 October 2012, The book was republished in the United States under the title ''The Sherlock Files: The Official Companion to the Hit Television Series'' in July 2013. In Japan, a

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

adaptation of the first series illustrated by Jay was serialised in

Kadokawa Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publis ...

's ''

Young Ace is a monthly ''seinen'' manga magazine in Japan published by Kadokawa Shoten, started in 2009. A spin-off web manga magazine titled ''Young Ace UP'' began publication in December 2015. Series ''Young Ace'' *''Akuma no Ikenie'' ('' Devil's Sacri ...

'' magazine from 4 October 2012. The English translation of this manga series was released by

Titan Comics Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

in the UK and US beginning on 8 June 2016. In October 2012, Winning Moves sold a Sherlock-themed edition of

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddin ...

. The first episode of the second series ("A Scandal in Belgravia") was adapted, with ''Sherlock: A Scandal In Belgravia: Part 1'' () being released by Titan Books in the UK in July 2020, with ''Part 2'' () due to be published in March 2022.

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

published several tie-in websites relating to the show's fictional world. These were written by

Joseph Lidster Joseph Lidster is an English playwright and screenwriter, best known for his work on the '' Doctor Who'' spin-off series ''Torchwood'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. Biography His debut work was the audio play '' The Rapture'' for Big Finis ...

, who had also contributed to the ''Doctor Who'' tie-in websites. Two websites – thescienceofdeduction.co.uk and johnwatsonblog.co.uk – feature the events from the show in the form of puzzles and case-summaries, often with comments (for example, by John Watson's sister, "Harry"). There are also several blogs about "unseen" cases that do not feature on television. Similar to the broadcast cases, these retain familiar elements from classic Arthur Conan Doyle stories: "The Geek Interpreter" instead of "

The Greek Interpreter "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as ''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes''. The story was originally published in ' ...

", and "The Six Thatchers" instead of "The Six Napoleons". On the websites, links can be found to Molly Hooper's diary and the official website of Connie Prince.

Clothing

The show's popularity resulted in enquiries for coats similar to Sherlock's, reported retailer

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...

. Garment manufacturer Belstaff put the wool trench coat worn by Benedict Cumberbatch back into production before the series had ended. ''The Independent'' reported, "designer

Paul Costelloe Paul Costelloe (born 23 June 1945) is an Irish designer and artist. In popular culture In 2010, Costelloe was one of six contemporary and internationally renowned Irish fashion designers featured on a set of Irish postage stamps issued by An ...

moved to meet the demand, offering tailored coats and scarves based on the series, while

Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...

bespoke tailor John Pearse said many of his clients were inquiring about the actors' clothes." Journalist Alexis Petridis commented, " u can see why men wanted to get the look. Perhaps they noted the effect Cumberbatch, by no means your standard telly hunk, had on lady viewers ��and decided it must have something to do with the clobber. So it is that Britain's latest men's style icon is a fictional asexual sociopath first seen onscreen hitting a corpse with a horse whip. Surely not even the great detective himself could have deduced that was going to happen."

Games

In January 2014, the show launched its official

''Sherlock: The Network'', which was created by The Project Factory in association with Hartswood Films. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman appear in cameo roles as Holmes and Dr Watson, respectively. In June 2018, it was announced that a live ''Sherlock'' experience, '' Sherlock: The Game Is Now'', would be opening in London in October 2018. The experience was written by Moffat and Gatiss, and would feature audio and video scenes with "original ''Sherlock'' cast members". The experience, which is built in the West 12 shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush and designed by the

escape room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limite ...

creators of London's ''Time Run'', begins in 221B Baker Street and requires teams to solve mysteries to progress along through the 60-minute game.

References

External links

*
''Sherlock'' series 1
at

''Sherlock'' series 2
at Hartswood Films * *
''Sherlock''
at ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherlock (TV series) 2010 British television series debuts 2010s British crime television series 2010s British drama television series 2010s British mystery television series 2010s British television miniseries BAFTA winners (television series) BBC television dramas British crime television series English-language television shows Peabody Award-winning television programs Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie winners Sherlock Holmes films based on works by Arthur Conan Doyle Television shows based on novels Television series by Hartswood Films Television shows set in London