CBS Casts Morris Chestnut as Watson in Sherlock Holmes Medical Drama
The network and creators behind Elementary are putting a new modern spin on Sherlock Holmes.
CBS is returning to Baker Street. After airing seven seasons of Elementary — the modern-day police procedural based on Sir Arthur Doyle's works that starred Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson — the network announced Wednesday a straight to series order for Watson for the 2024-2025 broadcast season. The new CBS medical drama will star Morris Chestnut (Boyz n the Hood, The Enemy Within) in the lead role as Dr. John Watson, a modern version of one of history's greatest detectives, as he resumes his career solving medical mysteries.
Craig Sweeny, a writer and producer on Elementary, Medium, and Star Trek: Discovery, wrote the pilot and will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Nancy Drew director and co-executive producer Larry Teng, who is signed to an overall deal with CBS Studios, will executive produce and direct the first episode.
"We are thrilled to feature such a beloved character from the world of Sherlock Holmes at the center of this series and have it brought to life by Morris Chestnut in a fresh and unexpected take on the immortal doctor," said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. "Craig Sweeny's bold new vision for the complex Dr. Watson deftly interweaves rich character storytelling with edge-of-your-seat medical mysteries."
CBS describes Watson: "A year after the death of his friend and partner Sherlock Holmes at the hands of Moriarty, Dr. John Watson (Chestnut) 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. Watson is a medical show with a strong investigative spine, featuring a modern version of one of history's greatest detectives as he turns his attention from solving crimes to solving medical mysteries."
Chestnut will also executive produce alongside Shäron Moalem MD, PhD; Aaron Kaplan (The Unicorn, The Chi) and Brian Morewitz (A Million Little Things, Black Cake) are EPs for Kapital Entertainment. The new Sherlock Holmes adaptation hails from CBS Studios, which will also debut the Kathy Bates-starring Matlock reboot and The Good Wife spinoff Elsbeth during the 2024-2025 broadcast season.
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