CBS has slated this modern take on Sherlock Holmes—set in New York as opposed to London—for Thursday nights at 10:00 (9:00 Central). There has, of course, been chatter as to this being an American Sherlock, but Elementary looks to be quite a bit different . . . And if it makes more than three episodes every couple years, it will at least have that much going for it.
Jonny Lee Miller will play the new Sherlock and Lucy Liu will be his Watson. A girl! Yes. So besides the change in scenery, we've got a gender switch that may or may not work for core Holmes fans. Chemistry between the stars is said to be strong, and Elementary had quite a bit of buzz at upfronts, so I guess we'll see.
An American Sherlock Holmes will necessitate some additional changes in sensibilities, even simply from a cultural standpoint. Though it's hip to be an Anglophile these days, a British detective (who may be asexual or gay) won't capture wide swaths of Peorians. My guess is Elementary will play more like the procedurals that are so popular, C.S.I. and the like.
Fun aside: Jonny Lee Miller played opposite Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch on stage at the National Theatre, London, in Frankenstein. The two switched off playing the Monster and Victor Frankenstein and won the Olivier for their efforts. (You can actually see a filmed staging of the play, coming to selected movie theaters across the country in early June.)
As a fan of Sherlock, I'm certainly curious about Elementary and will be giving it a look. Holmes seems to come in roughly 20- to 30-year cycles of popularity, and he's at his height again now with movies and television shows and new anthologies coming out. Too much of a good thing? We might be headed toward a saturation point, but with the Robert Downey Jr. films widely spaced and Sherlock almost as rare, there may yet be room for a regular weekly appearance by one of literature's most beloved figures.
