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Watson

 

Elementary network CBS puts yet another twist on the Sherlock Holmes mythos by killing the great detective, and popping his trusty No. 2 John Watson at the centre of a medical drama

After working as a writer and executive producer for five years on Elementary, being offered to revisit the world of Sherlock Holmes for television took Craig Sweeny by surprise. On his newest creation, a medical drama with detective elements, Watson is back, but he is not a “Joan” as played by Lucy Liu. This time, the good doctor is embodied by Morris Chestnut, flying solo without Sherlock as he takes on some headscratchers in a prestigious Pittsburgh hospital. “Prior to Watson, [Elementary] had been my happiest professional experience,” says Sweeny. “Writing Holmes, Watson and these surrounding characters always has fit me like a comfortable shoe, and the chance to develop a new take on that, it wasn’t something I ever thought that I would do, but when I had the idea, it has just been so fun to revisit.”

Watson on Global and CBS. Pictured: Watson (Morris Chestnut, far right) with his team (left to right): Dr. Stephens Croft (Peter Mark Kendall, who also plays the character’s identical twin brother, Adam), Dr. Ingrid Derian (Eve Harlow) and Dr. Sasha Lubbock (Inga Schlingmann).
CBS

The starting point of Watson is one year after Sherlock Holmes’ apparent death. Holmes’ arch- nemesis Moriarty is very much on the loose and has it out for Holmes’ most trusted associate. It’s a storyline Sweeny says will be threaded throughout the first season. But the greatest mysteries for Watson and his team are the cases brought to the geneticists at the hospital. The solutions will border on the unusual, promises Sweeny. “I have a personal interest in that topic, and we are able to really write about the vanguard of medicine in a way that hopefully is fun and entertaining. But also, I hope you can watch our episodes and come away learning a little bit more about yourself and your genes.”

Watson on Global and CBS. Pictured: Watson and his team are the cases brought to the geneticists at a prestigious Pittsburgh hospital.
CBS

Viewers will also learn more about Holmes’ death and its impact on our leading man. Not only are we dealing with the mystery of one of the most famous detectives in history — for Sweeny, the origin story between the two men has always been one of interest. “When you read the books, there’s this guy who lives with Sherlock. It’s quite a strange thing. I mean, imagine saying, ‘I met this guy and he looked at my watch and he told me some things about myself, and now I’m going to move in with him and we’re going to solve mysteries together.’ When you think about Watson’s life, it is quite an unusual thing,” he says. “So, the chance to dig into that was what really appealed to me about the premise. Now, Watson is dealing with the aftermath of that choice. He put his life on hold, he put his wife on hold, he put his practice of medicine on hold. He’s brought new skills back, but he’s also done a lot of damage, and so we’re going to see him try to fit back in despite being an entirely new person.”

Watson on Global and CBS. Pictured: Ritchie Coster plays Shinwell Johnson, a former London criminal.
CBS

Chestnut, who previously played a doctor on Rosewood, Nurse Jackie and The Resident, finds that it is the writing that makes this gig stand out from the ones in his past. “Every medical doctor that I’ve played before has primarily just been straight-up a doctor,” he says. “This is where we’re doctors and detectives in addition to being in the old Sherlock mythology. It’s an iconic mythology, and Craig so brilliantly has brought in characters from the mythology and woven them into procedural.”

On the series, Watson’s team consists of an eclectic bunch. Canadian Eve Harlow (The Night Agent) plays Ingrid Derian, an aloof neurologist with a mysterious past. Inga Schlingmann plays Sasha Lubbock, a rheumatologist and immunologist who is culturally torn between her Chinese roots and the Texan family that adopted her. Ritchie Coster is Shinwell Johnson, a former London criminal who works as their inventive administrative aid. And then there is Rochelle Aytes, who as Watson’s ex-wife and current boss Mary Morstan, has the unenviable task of reeling these people in.

Watson on Global and CBS. Pictured: Rochelle Aytes as Dr. Mary Morstan, Watson’s former wife and current boss.
CBS

Perhaps the most interesting characters, from a behind-the-scenes perspective, are twins Stephens and Adam Croft, who are played by the same actor, Peter Mark Kendall. “It has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences making that happen,” says Kendall. “Essentially, we film one side of it where I’m playing one character and we have a wonderful acting double who learns all the lines that I have to do. He will play the other character and then we switch. It can be tedious, but I think it’s really, really exciting.”

It all falls under the kind of ambition Chestnut is eager to take on at this juncture in his career. “Craig creating a medical procedural, using the mythology the way that he does, is incredible. He has very brilliantly taken little aspects of us and put in the show to where you literally see blood, sweat and tears. I believe every actor on here, Eve, Peter, Inga, Rochelle, Ritchie — we’ve all left a lot of ourselves on screen,” he says. “We are not just doctors, we are detectives, and we combine elements that I feel haven’t been combined in this way. I’m really excited for the audience to see that.”

Watson airs Sunday, January 26, on Global & CBS

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