Watson: Morris Chestnut to star in Sherlock Holmes-inspired series

Who is Dr. John Watson without Sherlock Holmes? CBS aims to find out as they have given a straight-to-series order to Watson, a drama series starring Morris Chestnut as the title character.

Set one year after the death of Sherlock Holmes at the hands of Moriarty, Watson will see “Dr. John Watson resume 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.“

Craig Sweeny created the series and will serve as showrunner and executive producer. He also has experience with the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as he served as a writer and executive producer on Elementary, which starred Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson. The series aired for seven seasons on CBS.

“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.” In addition to starring in Watson, Morris Chestnut will also executive produce the series. The first episode will be directed by Larry Teng, with the series expected to air during the 2024-2025 broadcast season.

Morris Chestnut recently starred in multiple seasons of Fox’s The Resident and reprised his role as Lance Sullivan for The Best Man: The Final Chapters, a Peacock limited series that caught up with the beloved friend group as “relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.“