More than a year after after CBS first announced a straight-to-series order for the next take on Sherlock Holmes, Watson is finally set to premiere in the 2025 TV schedule. As anybody familiar with Holmes lore can guess from the title, the twist this time around is that the premise centers on Dr. John Watson rather than his detective friend, and it fits into the medical drama genre. Morris Chestnut of Rosewood and The Resident fame stars as the good doctor, and his description of the new series has me sold.
Watson will be CBS' first attempt at a medical drama since Sophia Bush's Good Sam was cancelled back in 2022, and the show's approach to the genre combines medicine with mystery. The main character leads a clinic that attempts to treat very rare disorders, which requires as certain kind of approach. Or, as Morris Chestnut put it to TV Insider, an approach that's a kind of genre hybrid that can't be found anywhere else on network television:
We’re not just doctors. We’re not just detectives. We are ‘doc-tectives.' That’s where our show is different than a lot of primarily straight-line medical dramas or straight-line detective dramas. It’s a combination of both.
The mysteries may be primarily medical from week to week, but the action centering on John Watson doesn't mean that the show is missing more familiar Sherlock Holmes elements like those adapted in CBS' Elementary before that show ended in 2019. (Watson showrunner and creator Craig Sweeny also created Elementary.) While the famed detective himself has been dead for six months by the time the story picks up, there's always more to the world of Sherlock Holmes.
Famed antagonist Moriarty has a part to play in the show, with Chestnut describing him as having the ability to "be places and touch people close to Watson when he is not necessarily in front of them." No news has been released at the time of writing about just who will be playing Moriarty, so it should be interesting to see how long it takes Watson to introduce the new take on the character.
Based on the trailer, Watson also seems to be sticking to the element of John that he's a storyteller as well as doctor, although only time will tell. Take a look:
CBS is certainly giving Watson a strong push right out of the gate. While the show's time slot premiere is technically not until mid-February, the network is debuting the pilot on Sunday, January 26 immediately after the NFL's AFC Championship game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. Although that's not quite as good as Justin Hartley's Tracker getting the post-Super Bowl slot to premiere in 2024, airing directly after a major NFL game is likely to draw a very large audience.
In fact, the AFC championship game is the biggest NFL game that CBS has left this year, as the Super Bowl will air on Fox in 2025, featuring a halftime show headlined by Kendrick Lamar. So, this Sunday may have the absolute strongest lead-in possible for Watson to kick off. Talk about a show of faith for Morris Chesnut's new "doc-tective" show!
In addition to Morris Chesnut, Watson stars Eve Harlow as Ingrid Derian, Peter Mark Kendell pulling double duty as Dr. Stephens Croft and Dr. Adam Croft, Ritchie Coster as Shinwell Johnson, Inga Schlingmann as Sasha Lubbock, Rochelle Aytes as Dr. Mary Morstan, and... well, somebody TBD as Moriarty! I'm curious to see if Sherlock will make an appearance via flashbacks prior to his death as well.
Watson premieres on Sunday, January 26 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS following the AFC Championship, and will then debut in its regular time slot of 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 26. Episodes will also be available streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.
