‘Watson’ series premiere review: Under Sherlock’s shadow

The latest Sherlock Holmes adaptation is not about Sherlock at all. Watson follows Dr. John Watson six months after Sherlock’s death as he goes back to his job as a doctor, turning this particular adaptation into a standard medical procedural. Morris Chestnut brings a warm and inviting presence as Watson, which could be enough to keep this show going. 

The Watson pilot does everything a pilot should. It introduces the world and the characters easily and clearly enough. Watson takes everything he learned from Sherlock and applies it to diagnosing patients and the people around him, using deductive reasoning. He almost sounds like Sherlock sometimes; it’s not always smooth, sometimes sounding like the show just wants Watson to be Sherlock. Watson’s got a team of doctors around him who help him solve medical mysteries, a bit of a House-style vibe to it all. Which makes sense, as Dr. House has always been described as a Sherlock-type. Mary Morsten is here as well as the person in charge of the hospital. 

And the opening medical mystery is intriguing enough, providing enough twists and turns to remain engaging throughout the episode. The weakest element is probably Watson’s staff. While there’s certainly room for their characters to grow more depth, their introductions are clunky and uninteresting, archetypes more than anything. 

While Watson shows promise, the biggest hurdle it must clear is the shadow of Sherlock Holmes; titling the show “Watson” might not be enough. Especially since the pilot episode opens on Reichenbach Falls, the famous location of Sherlock’s death. Fans of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock stories will be familiar with Reichenbach Falls (so too will BBC Sherlock fans) as the place where Sherlock ultimately didn’t die (though that was the original intention in The Final Problem). 

It’s a curious way to start a show with a synopsis that ultimately changes the entire premise of Sherlock, though medical mysteries certainly work in the realm of deductive reasoning. But when the main character walks and talks pretty much like Sherlock anyway, it results in a potentially crowded show. If Sherlock ever appears (and considering Randall Park shows up as James Morriarty at the end of the pilot, it’s likely), Watson might ultimately struggle with its identity. 

Still, all the iconic Sherlock elements are there. Deductive reasoning, famous lines, characters, even Scotland Yard. Watson might just end up being an easter egg hunt for all the Sherlock lore, but it could also be a refreshing expansion on the story. This isn’t CBS’s first Sherlock adaptation; Elementary is a far better series than Sherlock. Hopefully, Watson can replicate the magic of its CBS predecessor. 

The rest of Watson Season 1 begins on February 16 on CBS.

---

Images courtesy of Colin Bentley/CBS