Craig Sweeny (Creator), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Characters)

CAST

Morris Chestnut
Eve Harlow
Peter Mark Kendall
Inga Schlingmann
Rochelle Aytes
Ritchie Coster

Review

You ever watch a show and think, this could be great… if it just figured out what it actually wants to be? That’s Watson in a nutshell. It’s got the bones of a solid medical drama, the shadow of a Sherlockian mystery, and a lead actor (Morris Chestnut) who absolutely sells the role. But does the first episode truly work? Eh… not quite.

The show follows Dr. John Watson, one year after Sherlock Holmes’ supposed death. He’s trying to move on by opening a Clinic in Pittsburgh, where he treats weird, unexplainable cases. But, surprise – his past isn’t done with him yet.

Sounds cool, right? It is… kind of. The problem is, Watson feels like it’s trying too hard to be two different shows at once. It’s got the medical drama structure (House vibes, for sure), but then suddenly, there’s a few Sherlock Holmes’ type quotes and wisdoms clumsily sprinkled in, then a big bad lurking in the shadows, and the pacing gets all weird. The Moriarty reveal? Way too soon. Like, we just got here, let the suspense build a little!

That being said, there are bright spots. The cinematography? Solid. Chestnut? Absolutely believable as Watson. And Peter Mark Kendall as the Croft twins? Unreal performance – I fully thought they were played by two different actors who kind of looked alike. As for Eve Harlow, I’ve seen her in too many things to trust her character in this, so there might be a good mystery there. But the script? It’s struggling, with clunky exposition that feels more “tell” than “show.”

Bottom line, Watson hasn’t won me over yet. I’ll give it a couple more episodes to find its footing, but right now, it’s a maybe at best. If you love medical procedurals with a side of mystery, you might enjoy it but don’t go in expecting Elementary levels of brilliance.

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