--- title: "Sherlock" year: 2010 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/sherlock" fi1m_score: 78 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 8 published: "2026-09-17T01:45:05.403969+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T01:45:24.331427+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Sherlock (2010) Created by Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat · 1h 30m · MPA TV-14 · Crime, Drama, Mystery **Fi1m score: 78** · Critics 82 from 8 reviews *In a sentence:* A detective who reads a man’s divorce off his phone, and a flatmate who rather wishes he wouldn’t > Moffat and Gatiss’s present-day Holmes is quick, funny and better made than most British television of its size, and Cumberbatch and Freeman are why it works. See the first two series. After that the show falls in love with its own detective. ## Synopsis London, the present day. John Watson (Martin Freeman), an army doctor sent home from Afghanistan with a limp and a therapist, Ella (Tanya Moodie), needs somewhere to live. A friend introduces him to Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), who calls himself a consulting detective, reads a man’s life off his phone and has found a flat at 221B Baker Street he cannot afford alone. Their landlady, Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs), insists she is not the housekeeper. Within a day DI Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves) is at the door: four Londoners have swallowed the same poison in the same way, none of them knew each other, and the police are calling them suicides. Holmes wants the case. Watson comes along to see what happens. ## Review Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have taken Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective out of the fog and put him in a London of cab ranks, cash machines and mobile phones, and the surprise is how little they had to change. Holmes always read people off their cuffs; now he reads them off their screens. Each episode runs 90 minutes and there are only three to a series, so the show arrives in short, expensive bursts, four of them between 2010 and 2017. The first two are as good as British detective television gets. The last two are something else, and we will come to that. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Holmes as a man who talks faster than anyone can listen and treats the people around him as furniture that occasionally speaks. He is rude, quick and pleased with himself, and the show lets us find him funny before it asks us to find him sad. Martin Freeman’s John Watson is the reason we can stand him. Freeman does almost nothing: a look, a pause, a flat word of praise delivered while Holmes insults a corpse. It is the job he did in *The Office*, standing beside someone impossible and letting us watch him decide whether to laugh, and it is the best thing in the series. Paul McGuigan directs the opening episode and sets the look everyone after him keeps. Deductions appear as words floating beside the thing being deduced, so we see a tan line and the word for where it came from at the same moment Holmes does. Charlie Phillips cuts these at a clip that lets us feel we are keeping up, which is flattering, and is meant to be. Steve Lawes, and the cinematographers who followed him, shoot London from above at night, orange sodium light on wet tarmac. Production designer Arwel Jones builds 221B Baker Street with a skull on the mantelpiece and paper on every surface, a flat we would know from the wallpaper alone. Sarah Arthur gives Holmes the long coat and the turned-up collar and Watson the jumpers, and the two costumes tell you the whole relationship. David Arnold and Michael Price’s theme is plucked strings and a fiddle, jaunty with something sour underneath. We laughed a great deal in the first series, mostly at Cumberbatch being unbearable to Rupert Graves’s decent, exhausted Lestrade and to Una Stubbs’s Mrs Hudson. The supporting cast is deeper than the format needs. Louise Brealey’s Molly Hooper, at the mortuary, is quietly in love with a man who does not notice. Vinette Robinson and Jonathan Aris play the officers who cannot abide him. Gatiss himself is Mycroft, a civil servant with an umbrella and no friends. Andrew Scott’s Jim Moriarty, when he arrives, is a sing-song child with a temper, and the show is more frightening once he is in it. Lara Pulver’s Irene Adler, in the second series, is the one person Holmes cannot read, and hers is the best single episode of the run. The mysteries were never quite the point. The second episode of the first series is the weakest of the three, a chase after a cipher that could belong to any detective programme, and it shows what is left when the jokes thin out. That is a small complaint. The large one is what happens later. By the third series, which brings in Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan, the cases have become excuses and the real subject is the detective: his brother, his past, his feelings. By the fourth we were shouting at the television. A show that once trusted us to keep up with a deduction now expected us to be moved by twists it had not earned, and we will not describe any of them. The gaps between series, two and three years apiece, did not help. Each return had to be bigger than the last, and it got bigger. Most critics scored it higher than we do, but most of them were writing in 2010, about the first three episodes, and about those they were right. Our score is for the whole run. Watch the first six, one a night, in order. Then decide whether you want to know what happens to these people, because the show wants that far more than it wants to know who did it. *Fi1m score 78, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews lean firmly positive, and they agree on where the credit belongs. Nearly every critic singles out the pairing of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, whose Holmes and Watson are described as the reason the series works. Steven Moffat’s script draws praise for wit and efficiency, and Paul McGuigan’s direction of the opening episode is repeatedly named, particularly the filmic camerawork and the on-screen text that flashes clues as Holmes reads a room. The move to the present day is judged a success rather than a gimmick. The spread is narrow, with one mixed review and none negative. The Guardian is the outlier, finding the opener’s plot muddled and the whole thing slick but too clean, and less frightening than the stories it draws on. Smaller doubts appear elsewhere: that this Holmes is easier to read than earlier portrayals, and that the second episode is a step down from the first. ### Reviews we read (8) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (85/100, inferred): The review commends the inventive contemporary update, with particular praise for the chemistry between Cumberbatch and Freeman and the direction of the pilot episode by Paul McGuigan, calling it superior sleuth TV. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/sherlock-2-32003/) - **The Telegraph**, Serena Davies (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the series electrifying thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch's charismatic, sociopathic Holmes and praises the witty script, fast pace, and successful transposition to the present day. A minor caveat is that Holmes feels too legible compared to classic portrayals. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/7907566/Sherlock-BBC-One-review.html) - **Variety**, Brian Lowry (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the clever modern reboot of Sherlock Holmes, highlighting the strong performances of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman and the witty adaptation that captures the essence of the original with flair. [Read](https://variety.com/2010/tv/reviews/sherlock-1117944032/) - **The Guardian**, Sam Wollaston (65/100, inferred): The critic praises the clever modern update, strong performances by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, and the spot-on Holmes-Watson relationship. The plot of the opener is criticised as muddled and less scary than the originals, making the series feel slick but overly clean. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/jul/26/sherlock-orchestra-united-tv-review) - **Paste**, Shane Ryan (95/100, inferred): The critic declares the BBC series the best show on television for its seamless blend of entertainment, intelligence, humor, and narrative. They single out the direction by Paul McGuigan, innovative visuals and text effects, and the pitch-perfect interplay between Cumberbatch and Freeman. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/sherlock/sherlock-why-its-the-best-show-on-tv) - **Collider**, Laura Kelley (90/100, inferred): The review calls the modern BBC adaptation incredibly good and suspenseful, with standout chemistry between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. It singles out the strong performances, supporting cast, and the thrilling third episode with its Moriarty reveal as highlights of the first series. [Read](https://collider.com/sherlock-dvd-review-benedict-cumberbatch/) - **Den of Geek**, Simon Brew (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the fresh modern-day update of Sherlock Holmes, highlighting Steven Moffat’s witty and efficient script that introduces characters and plot threads while delivering engaging entertainment. McGuigan’s direction stands out for its unfussy, filmic camerawork, effective on-screen text, and steady handling of key scenes. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/sherlock-a-study-in-pink-review-2/) - **NME**, NME (80/100, inferred): The critic praises Steven Moffat's work on the series for delivering addictive narrative puzzles and intellectual thrills that stand out from typical TV. They single out the visual clue-flashing technique and clever mysteries for making viewers active participants, while noting the second episode feels slightly less exhilarating. [Read](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/steven-moffats-sherlock-the-saviour-of-sunday-night-tv-40074) ## Details - **Created by:** Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat - **Creator:** Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat - **Director:** Paul McGuigan, Nick Hurran, Rachel Talalay, Euros Lyn, Jeremy Lovering, Benjamin Caron, Colm McCarthy, Toby Haynes - **Writer:** Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Stephen Thompson - **Cinematography:** Steve Lawes, Fabian Wagner, Neville Kidd, Stuart Biddlecombe, David Luther - **Editor:** Charlie Phillips, Yan Miles, Tim Porter, William Oswald, Mali Evans, Mark Davis - **Music:** David Arnold, Michael Price - **Production design:** Arwel Jones - **Costume design:** Sarah Arthur - **Producer:** Sue Vertue, Elaine Cameron - **Cast:** Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes; Martin Freeman as John Watson; Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson; Rupert Graves as DI Greg Lestrade; Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper; Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes; Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty; Jonathan Aris as Dr Anderson - **Runtime:** 1h 30m - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-14 - **Release (the US):** 25 July 2010 - **Genres:** Crime, Drama, Mystery - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGqWqGOSTGQ ## Where to watch in the US - BritBox: streaming, hd - Hulu: streaming, hd - AMC+: streaming - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Disney+: add-on, hd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Apple TV: add-on, hd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HU, IN, IT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PL, PT, RO, SE, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Primetime Emmy Awards 2016: Outstanding Special Visual Effects (won); Outstanding Television Movie (won) - Primetime Emmy Awards 2014: Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Special (nominated); Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special (nominated); Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie (won); Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (won); Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Special (won); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie (won); Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (won); Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (won) - BAFTA Television Awards 2012: Best Actor (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (won) - Critics' Choice Awards 2012: Best Movie/Miniseries (won); Best Movie/Miniseries Actor (won) - Primetime Emmy Awards 2012: Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (nominated); Outstanding Miniseries or Movie (nominated) - Satellite Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film 2012: Satellite Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film (nominated) - BAFTA Television Awards 2011: Best Drama Series (won) - TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials 2011: TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials (won) - Peabody Awards 2010: Peabody Awards (won) - Satellite Award for Best Miniseries 2010: Satellite Award for Best Miniseries (won) ## If you liked this - *The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes* (1984): Jeremy Brett in the fog and the frock coat; the version this one is answering - *Elementary* (2012): The American Holmes, in New York, slower and kinder, and it holds up over seven series - *The Bridge* (2011), Fi1m 88: A Swedish detective who cannot read people at all, and a partner who can — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai.md) - *Zodiac* (2007), Fi1m 91: Fincher’s procedural about men who cannot stop deducing and never get an answer — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/zodiac.md) - *Luther* (2010): The same London, the same year, a detective who feels far too much --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/sherlock