Entertainment
The Best Detective Series Of All Time Is On Disney+
By Nina Phillips
| Published
One of the most popular TV adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyal’s Sherlock Holmes series is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+. The modern version of this story grew popular with many fans over its four seasons.
The 2010 Sherlock series follows a consulting detective named Sherlock Holmes in modern London. He helps police solve crimes with his flatmate, Dr. John Watson. Overall, the show follows a very similar story to the original Sherlock Holmes novels but is set in a more modern time.
Stephen Moffat (Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen) worked together to create this version of Sherlock. The cast was impressive as well, with Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes (Doctor Strange) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) as John Watson. Additional cast members include Rupert Graves (V for Vendetta), Una Stubbs (Till Death Us Do Part), Jonathan Aris (Vivarium), and Lara Pulver (The Split).
Sherlock was interesting in the way it presented itself. Though it was a TV series, each season was made up of only three episodes that ran for approximately 90 minutes. This meant that each season was more like a trio of movies than an actual series.
Because of how long each episode was, and the fact that the directors were working on several shows at once, seasons took a fair amount of time to come out. Season 1 came out in 2010, Season 2 in 2012, Season 3 in 2014, and Season 4 came out in 2017.
Reactions To Sherlock
Upon release, Sherlock did well, especially in the first two seasons. According to IMDb ratings, it has an average rating of 9.1 out of 10.
When it comes to modern Sherlock Holmes adaptations, Sherlock is considered one of the best. There’s a lot to like about this four-series show. The main villain, Moriarty, was played by an amazing actor, Andrew Scott (Spectre). Additionally, the story is easy to follow and has a fast pace.
Dueling Modernized Sherlocks
However, it’s not always seen as the best modern Arthur Conan Doyle adaptation. That award is sometimes given to Elementary. This seven-season show focused more on the human side of Sherlock and the people in his life than on the actual drama and crime. Johnny Lee Miller (Aeon Flux) plays Sherlock, while Watson is played by Lucy Liu (Kill Bill).
The reviews on Rotten Tomatoes support this. Where Sherlock earned a critic score of 78 percent and an audience score of 83 percent, Elementary had a critic score of 95 percent and an audience score of 89 percent.
How Sherlock Sabotaged Its Own Legacy
Part of the problem was that while the first two seasons were rather good, Sherlock declined in the last two. The show shifted away from the crimes to focus more on character development, and the writers also added crazy and far-reaching twists, such as Watson’s partner. While Sherlock started to fall flat, Elementary remained a good show throughout all of its seasons.
Sherlock is available on Hulu and Disney+.