Young Sherlock First Impressions: When Holmes and Moriarty Were Friends
I had watched only the opening episodes of Young Sherlock when I first wrote these impressions, so this is not a verdict on the complete season. Even so, the series left me with enough to consider—especially its decision to introduce Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty not as adversaries, but as friends. Sherlock Holmes has been adapted so often that every new version arrives already surrounded by ghosts. It must compete not only with Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, but with more than a century of actors, costumes, catchphrases, deductions, deerstalkers, and attempts to explain why Holmes became Holmes. That last part is where Young Sherlock becomes both promising and dangerous. An origin story can add emotional weight to a familiar character. It can also explain so much that the character begins to feel smaller. Editorial update, September 2026: Prime Video renewed the series for a second season on 14 April 2026. By late July, season two was in production, with no release date an...