The expansive Sherlock Holmes franchise has just gotten bigger with the announcement of a brand-new prequel series entitled Young Sherlock. Making his debut in the novels and short stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the year 1887, the intrepid sleuth Sherlock Holmes uses his amazing logic and deduction skills to crack some of the toughest fictional cases of the 19th century. Generally accompanied by his companion Dr. John Watson, Holmes wasted no time in jumping off the page and onto the stage and screen as his reputation grew over the years.

Though there have been dozens of adaptations of Sherlock Holmes over the decades, director Guy Ritchie is partially responsible for bringing the character back into focus with the release of the 2009 film starring Robert Downey Jr. A blockbuster sequel followed a few years later, and by then, the modern day Sherlock Holmes craze was in full force. Now, Ritchie returns to the franchise to direct a prequel series based on the novels by Andrew Lane. Young Sherlock aims to continue the Holmes craze into the 2020s while exploring new stories for the daring detective.

Young Sherlock Latest News

Another Major Character Is Cast

As the cast of the highly-anticipated detective series continues to take shape, the latest news confirms that Young Sherlock has cast a major character. Rounding out the roster of familiar faces from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's book series, The White Queen's Max Irons has been tapped to play the role of Sherlock's older brother, Mycroft Holmes. Irons s a cast already brimming with stars, and will appear opposite the likes of Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Colin Firth.

Young Sherlock Is Confirmed

The Project Was Announced In May 2024

Though British tabloids dropped hints about the project in April 2024, an official announcement regarding Young Sherlock didn't surface until later in May. The reveal was a doozy with the inclusion of director Guy Ritchie and the news that Hero Fiennes Tiffin had been cast in the lead role. The 8-episode series is slated to debut on Amazon Prime Video, but no production timeline has been established yet. The show will adapt Andrew Lane's books of the same name, the most recent of which was published in 2015.

Sherlock & Daughter is another Sherlock Holmes series in development on The CW.

Young Sherlock Cast

Hero Fiennes Tiffin Stars As Sherlock Holmes

The cast of Young Sherlock has tapped Hero Fiennes Tiffin to be the latest in a long line of actors who have played Sherlock Holmes. Tiffin will play a much younger and less savvy version of the character, and audiences will get to see Holmes grow into the intrepid sleuth that readers met in Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet back in 1887. Instead of Dr. John Watson, Holmes' older brother Mycroft and his American tutor Amyus Crowe are his companions in the novels, with the former being played by Max Irons.

ing Tiffin in the cast of Young Sherlock are Joseph Fiennes and Natascha McElhone who will appear as Sherlock's parents. Fiennes' Silas Holmes is known for being an intrepid businessman who also dabbles in science and exploration, while McElhone's Cordelia is the artist of the family who is devoted to her son. Three Body Problem star Zine Tseng is set to play Chinese Princess Gulun Shou’an, a skilled martial artist and Oxford scholar. Oscar winner Colin Firth will play Sir Bucephalus Hodge, and Dónal Finn will play Sherlock's infamous foil, Professor James Moriarty.

The confirmed cast of Young Sherlock includes:

Young Sherlock Story Details

Andrew Lane Has Written 8 Young Sherlock Books Thus Far

Along with the announcement of the show, a basic synopsis has been provided that offers some clues about the story of Young Sherlock. The 8-episode first season will follow a 19-year-old Sherlock as he attends Oxford University and finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery that changes his life forever. This marks a bit of a departure from the book series and sees Holmes aged up from his younger teenage years to young adulthood. In most of Lane's novels, Holmes is 14, something that would be difficult to adapt into a television series.

Andrew Lane's Young Sherlock book series includes:

The plot is closest to Lane's 7th novel, Stone Cold, which sees the burgeoning sleuth investigate a strange case involving the university's pathology labs, but the Oxford connection could merely be a coincidence. Based on the details provided, Young Sherlock may be an amalgamation of various novels from Lane's series, or could tell an entirely new story with the same tone as the popular YA books.