By Maxine Bass
Sherlock & Daughter puts a new family spin on literature’s most famous detective
There have been various film and TV incarnations of Sherlock Holmes over the years, ranging from the classic Basil Rathbone films of the 1930s and ’40s, to Robert Downey, Jr. portraying the sleuth in the Guy Ritchie-directed film franchise, to the recent CBS series Sherlock — and let’s not forget Millie Bobby Brown playing his younger sister in the Enola Holmes movies.
The latest iteration arrives this week with Sherlock & Daughter, starring David Thewlis (The Artful Dodger, Fargo) as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective.
The series promises to take Holmes “out of his comfort zone, mysteriously unable to investigate a sinister case without risking the lives of his closest friends,” notes The CW’s press release for the eight-episode series.
What makes this take on Sherlock Holmes different is the introduction of a young American woman named Amelia Rojas (Blu Hunt), who turns up at Holmes’ door claiming to be his daughter.
When Amelia’s mother is mysteriously murdered, the pair must work together to solve a global conspiracy, figure out who killed her, and then determine for certain if she really is Sherlock’s daughter.
Shot in Dublin (doubling for London), Sherlock & Daughter also features Dougray Scott as Holmes’ nemesis, Moriarty.
“It’s not really a reinvention because, obviously, Sherlock Holmes has a daughter,” Hunt said in a recent interview with Starlings Entertainment. “Everyone’s always thinking of them as being, like, basically asexual, you know? But I mean, working with David Thewlis is, like, more than a dream come true. And he’s like the coolest person ever, and he taught me so much about acting, and it’s just a great memory.”
For Europe-based Federation Studios, which produced the series, Sherlock & Daughter has proven to be a successful formula for TV broadcasters throughout the world.
“The CW’s vision was to address less of a YA audience than a mix of young and adult audiences. They wanted to make it broader,” Federation Studios co-head of distribution Guillaume Pommier told Broadcast.
“What I love is that you have two generations working together in Sherlock and his presumed daughter. So you can try to address two audiences that don’t usually watch the same show,” added Pommier. “It could have been an edgy version of Sherlock, but it’s not too dark — it’s for everyone. That’s why it’s good that it’s coming from The CW — it has a bigger audience in mind. It’s not like the Sherlock of an FX or Showtime. It’s light enough to be in primetime around the world. Crime but light.”
Star Hunt concurs. “I think it’ll be really fun, you know? It’s super cute . . . it’s definitely, like, girl power . . . but we have a very sweet relationship,” she said. “I think the relationship between the two of them is very, very sweet, and it’s fun because I definitely tried to bring some naturalism to the role. And I think we had a lot of fun acting together.”
Sherlock & Daughter premieres Wednesday, April 16, on KTLA