Robert Carlyle (Toxic Town, Trainspotting) is set to bring to life the legendary literary detective Sherlock Holmes in Season 2 of the CBS series Watson. Carlyle will appear in a recurring guest role, working opposite series lead Morris Chestnut, who plays Dr. John Watson.
The investigative medical drama is a modern version of one of history’s greatest detectives as he turns his attention from solving crimes to solving medical mysteries. While Watson’s team of “doc-tectives” may have defeated Moriarty (Randall Park) last season, they remain determined in Season 2 in their mission to investigate and treat the world’s rarest diseases for their clinic’s patients.
With his eyes fixed on the future, Watson faces an unexpected twist when Sherlock Holmes, who was presumed dead, resurfaces, forcing him to confront a buried secret from his past — one that lies hidden within his own body.
“We are thrilled to have the mighty Robert Carlyle join the cast of Watson in Season 2,” shared Craig Sweeny, executive producer and showrunner of Watson. “The man has played iconic roles in projects like Trainspotting, The Full Monty and 28 Weeks Later, and now he steps into the shoes of the most iconic detective of all, Sherlock Holmes. When Watson’s best friend and former partner makes a shocking reappearance in his life, Watson is forced to confront their shared past — and a secret that may lie buried within Watson’s own body.”
The addition of the character comes as a surprise. Sweeny told Deadline in January that he had no immediate plans to bring Sherlock into the show.
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“If you have Watson front and center, to allow that character to shine, you definitely don’t want him competing with the most famous character in all of literature, so a very natural construction for me was to begin with the death of Holmes at Reichenbach Falls,” Sweeny shared at the time. “Now, of course, even in Conan Doyle’s stories, Sherlock is not truly dead.”
He added: “My belief is that Holmes is gone. I don’t want to be held to that if there’s some great story that presents itself, but I don’t believe that we’re ever going to feature Sherlock as an ongoing character in the show, Watson at this time.”
Carlyle joins a long list of stars who have played Sherlock, including Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Henry Cavill (Enola Holmes), Will Ferrell (Holmes & Watson), Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary), David Thewlis (Sherlock and Daughter), Ian McKellan (Mr. Holmes), Michael Caine (Without a Clue), Peter O’Toole (Sherlock Holmes animated films), Charlton Heston (The Crucifer of Blood), and Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes film series), to name a very few.
The second season premieres at 10 p.m. Monday, October 13, on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
Watson was one of broadcast TV’s top new entertainment shows, averaging more than 10 million multiplatform viewers in L35s for the season, according to the network.
Watson also stars Eve Harlow, Peter Mark Kendall, Ritchie Coster, Inga Schlingmann and Rochelle Aytes.
Executive producers include Sweeny, Chestnut, Larry Teng, Shäron Moalem, Aaron Kaplan and Brian Morewitz. Watson is produced by CBS Studios.
Carlyle next will be seen starring as Jack Ruby in Roland Joffe’s JFK thriller, November 1963, opposite John Travolta, Mandy Patinkin and Dermot Mulroney. He can currently be seen in Jack Thorne’s Netflix series Toxic Town in the leading role. He can be seen on Season 3 of Cobra for Sky TV, FX’s Full Monty series and independent film The Performance.
Additionally, Carlyle appears in the BBC miniseries The War of the Worlds and has reprised his role as Begbie in Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting 2. He is well known for starring in seven seasons of the hit ABC television series Once Upon a Time. Additional credits include The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, 28 Weeks Later, Trainspotting, Angela’s Ashes and The Beach. Carlyle is repped by Link Entertainment, The Gersh Agency and Hamilton Hodell.
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