Watson TV Series Review
Watson is an American medical drama television series with detective elements created by Craig Sweeny, which premiered on CBS on 26 January 2025.
The series is centred around the character of Dr. John Watson from Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. After Sherlock Holmes‘ death, Dr. John Watson resumes his medical practice, opening the “Holmes Clinic” in Pittsburgh to treat patients with strange and unidentifiable issues… but Holmes’ arch-enemy still lurks.
The Good
In the world of reboots and re-imaginations of Sherlock Holmes, Watson is a refreshing take, which shines a spotlight on the oft unrecognised character of Dr Watson, this time, no longer the side-kick, but as the grieving yet determined protagonist, who finds purpose in applying his detective skills to solve mysterious medical ailments and perhaps, healing himself in the process.
Morris Chestnut as Dr Watson delivers a nuanced performance that infuses Waston with warmth, vulnerability and intellect, making the character humane and heroic.. It feels like Dr House but without the cynicism.
Watson is a modernised take on a classic tale without losing the charm of the original stories, while it plays out like a procedural medical drama series, its character driven medical mysteries serve as a mirror to Watson’s own emotional journey, his grief, guilt, and gradual rediscovery of purpose in a world without Sherlock Holmes.
The Bad
While it gives Dr Watson an interesting perspective, one can still feel a Sherlock Holmes-shaped void, which the characters struggle to occupy, there’s a missing thread or closure with regards to Holmes, as if leaving the possibility of the return of the character similar to how Moriarty also made a return…
It comes across as a safe and predictable medical drama series, following a patient-of-the-week type of structure, where each episode has a character in need of medical diagnosis, from something that has stumped other doctors and of course they always figure it out … eventually. Losing some patients would have raised the stakes and made it more compelling.
Moriaty’s character feels wooden and doesn’t justify all the attention accorded to him as arch-villain, not sure if that’s on the casting, or the writing. The other supporting characters are also under-utilised even though some have compelling potential subplots.
The Ugly
Cant escape from the shadow of Sherlock Holmes, maybe they should introduce a descendant or heir to Sherlock Holmes giving Watson someone to mentor which would flip the dynamic with him the lead and Sherlock’s descendant as an intern or side kick.
As a medical drama the show could have done more to boldly portray medical decisions that are in the realm of being morally ambiguous as part of its character building, and tackle issues such as euthanasia, abortion, do not resuscitate and informed consent, but again it played things safe most of the time.
Final Thoughts
Watson is an ambitious, commendable and heartfelt attempt to recreate the legacy of one of literature’s most side-lined characters, Dr Watson. While its not perfect and falters in some places, it’s a step in a refreshing direction. In March 2025, Watson was renewed for a second season and is billed to return in 2026.
Elementary…. Are you a Sherlock Holmes fan? Have you watched Watson?
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