Scripted series · BBC One
Sherlock
A new sleuth for the 21st century.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Benedict Cumberbatch
Sherlock Holmes
12 eps
Martin Freeman
John Watson
12 eps
Una Stubbs
Mrs. Hudson
12 eps
Rupert Graves
DI Greg Lestrade
11 eps
Louise Brealey
Molly Hooper
11 eps
Mark Gatiss
Mycroft Holmes
11 eps
Andrew Scott
Jim Moriarty
8 eps
Jonathan Aris
Dr Anderson
4 eps
Vinette Robinson
Sgt Sally Donovan
4 eps
Lara Pulver
Irene Adler
2 eps
Tanya Moodie
Ella
3 eps
Amanda Abbington
Mary Morstan
6 eps
Deborah Moore
Crying Woman
1 eps
Lynn Farleigh
Professor Cairns
1 eps
John Sessions
Kenny Prince
1 eps
Zoe Telford
Sarah
2 eps
Di Botcher
Connie Prince
1 eps
Doug Allen
Joe
1 eps
Haydn Gwynne
Miss Wenceslas
1 eps
Lars Mikkelsen
Charles Magnussen
3 eps
Sharon Rooney
Laura
1 eps
Amelia Bullmore
Dr Stapleton
1 eps
Russell Tovey
Henry Knight
1 eps
Clive Mantle
Dr Frankland
1 eps
Ed Birch
Tom
2 eps
Lindsay Duncan
Lady Smallwood
3 eps
Stephen Wight
Fletcher
1 eps
Toby Jones
Culverton Smith
1 eps
Simon Kunz
Sir Edwin
3 eps
Sacha Dhawan
Ajay
1 eps
Marcia Warren
Vivian
1 eps
Eleanor Matsuura
DI Hopkins
1 eps
Charles Edwards
David Welsborough
1 eps
Amanda Root
Emma Welsborough
1 eps
Rob Callender
Charlie Welsborough
1 eps
Georgina Rylance
Cornelia
1 eps
Gina Bramhill
Faith
1 eps
Art Malik
Prison Governor
1 eps
Timothy Carlton
Mr. Holmes
3 eps
Wanda Ventham
Mrs. Holmes
3 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Sherlock actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Sherlock reads strongest on Character Depth, Tension and Bingeability.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.
The run
Seasons
4 seasons · 12 episodes.
Season 0 · Complete
Specials
20109 episodes
Best episode · S00E01 Unaired Pilot
Season 1 · Complete
Series 1
20103 episodes
8.0IMDbWhen a chance encounter brings soldier John Watson into Sherlock's life, it's apparent the two men couldn't be more different, but Sherlock's intellect coupled with John's pragmatism soon forges an unbreakable alliance as they investigate a series of baffling cases together.
Best episode · S01E03 The Great Game
Season 2 · Complete
Series 2
20123 episodes
8.3IMDbA Royal scandal, a dazzling game of cat and mouse. The seductive Irene Adler is cold, calculating, brilliant. Has Sherlock finally met his match?
Best episode · S02E03 The Reichenbach Fall
Season 3 · Complete
Series 3
20143 episodes
8.0IMDbSherlock is back, but will things ever be the same again?
Best episode · S03E03 His Last Vow
Season 4 · Complete
Series 4
20173 episodes
7.6IMDbThe fourth series begins with the nation’s favourite detective, the mercurial Sherlock Holmes, back once more on British soil, as Doctor Watson and his wife, Mary, prepare for their biggest ever challenge - becoming parents for the first time.
Best episode · S04E02 The Lying Detective
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S02E03 · Signature episode
The Reichenbach Fall
The return of Moriarty. The crime of the century. Can Sherlock possibly survive?
- Directed by Toby Haynes
- Written by Steve Thompson
S02E01 · Signature episode
A Scandal in Belgravia
Blackmail threatens the monarchy and Sherlock is about to meet the woman who beats him.
- Directed by Paul McGuigan
- Written by Steven Moffat
S04E02 · Signature episode
The Lying Detective
Sherlock faces perhaps the most chilling enemy of his long career: the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith – a man with a very dark secret indeed.
- Directed by Nick Hurran
- Written by Steven Moffat
S01E03 · Signature episode
The Great Game
A strange clue in an empty room, a blood-soaked car, a priceless Old Master, a deranged bomber. With the clock ticking, the curtain rises on a battle of wits between Sherlock, John and the shadowy stranger who seems to know all the answers...
- Directed by Paul McGuigan
- Written by Mark Gatiss
S03E03 · Signature episode
His Last Vow
A case of stolen letters leads Sherlock Holmes into a long conflict with Charles Augustus Magnussen, the Napoleon of blackmail, and the one man he truly hates. But how do you tackle a foe who knows the personal weakness of every person of importance in the Western world?
- Directed by Nick Hurran
- Written by Steven Moffat
S01E01
A Study in Pink
A war hero, invalided home from Afghanistan, meets a strange but charismatic genius who is looking for a flatmate; it is London, 2010, and Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes are meeting for the first time. A string of impossible suicides has Scotland Yard baffled - and only one man can help.
- Directed by Paul McGuigan
- Written by Steven Moffat
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S04E03
The Final Problem
- Directed by Benjamin Caron
- Written by Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss
S04E02 · Signature episode
The Lying Detective
- Directed by Nick Hurran
- Written by Steven Moffat
S04E01
The Six Thatchers
- Directed by Rachel Talalay
- Written by Mark Gatiss
S00E09
The Abominable Bride
- Directed by Douglas Mackinnon
- Written by Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss
S00E08
Sherlock Uncovered: The Villains
S00E07
Sherlock Uncovered: The Women
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Beryl VertueExecutive Producer
- Steven MoffatExecutive Producer
- Mark GatissExecutive Producer
- Sue VertueProducer
- Elaine CameronProducer
- Rebecca EatonExecutive Producer
Writing
- Steve ThompsonWriter
- Steven MoffatWriter
- Mark GatissWriter
Direction
- Paul McGuiganDirector
- Colm McCarthyDirector
- Toby HaynesDirector
- Nick HurranDirector
- Benjamin CaronDirector
- Jeremy LoveringDirector
Cinematography
- David LutherDirector of Photography
- Steve LawesDirector of Photography
- Neville KiddDirector of Photography
- Stuart BiddlecombeDirector of Photography
- Fabian WagnerDirector of Photography
Music
- David ArnoldOriginal Music Composer
- Michael PriceOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- HuluStreaming
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- PhiloStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- AMC Plus Apple TV Channel Streaming
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- AMC+Streaming
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- YouTube TVStreaming
- PBSStreaming
- BritBoxStreaming
- PBS Masterpiece Amazon ChannelStreaming
- BritBox Amazon ChannelStreaming
- Spectrum On DemandStreaming
- ThirteenStreaming
- WETA+Streaming
- Wonder Project Amazon ChannelStreaming
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Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
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Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
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