Elementary for you: the new series about Sherlock will be released in Russia before the USA

The official screening of the American TV series "Sherlock and Daughter" starts in Russia on April 3, which will begin airing at home only on April 16. Starring is the Harry Potter star, Cannes prize winner, and one of the most famous British artists, David Thewlis. The director was Bryn Higgins, who worked on Black Mirror. First impression of the series: we haven't seen such a Sherlock Holmes yet. The rest is in the analysis of Izvestia.

What is the series "Sherlock and Daughter" about

Despite the modest production budget, which is typical for the series of the popular American television channel The CW, the authors managed to assemble an impressive team and ensemble. The showrunner was James Duff, who is known for the crime drama "Especially serious crimes", Bryn Higgins was appointed director ("Plane Crash Investigations", "Black Mirror", "London Hospital"), the legendary David Thewlis was invited to the main role. It was he who became the main decoration of the series, in many ways, of course, due to an unconventional approach to the portrayal of the most famous detective in popular culture from Baker Street, 221-B. To help him, they allocated a Native American and a descendant of the Lakota Blue Hunt tribe, who tried to save the "New Mutants" with her game in 2020, but still couldn't cope (and who would?).

Izvestia reviewed the first half of the season — four episodes out of eight available. The new "Sherlock" series is provocative and not devoid of charm. The director made the main bet on a bold interpretation of Holmes, because in the performance of Thewlis, the British detective turned out to be the most conflicted misanthrope of all possible: rejecting, rude, heartless. Where Benedict Cumberbatch had "palaces of reason" and dry calculations, Thewlis had a desire to knock the interlocutor out of his comfort zone, or better yet, to bring him to tears. Holmes ruthlessly manipulates people, humiliates them, provokes them, and this is not always associated with solving crimes. He just really likes it.

In the first scene of the series, Holmes harshly interrogates the child immediately after the abduction, and then roughly rips the tape from his wrist. Next scene — chastising the new housekeeper (instead of Mrs. Hudson) for cooking the egg for longer than exactly 4 minutes and 12 seconds, as required by its household regulations. A little later, towards the middle of the season, Holmes reveals his empathic side, but Thewlis, who plays him, not only does not strive for the charm of the oddballs Vasily Livanov or Downey Jr., but even seems to be arguing with them. His Holmes constantly repeats: "Rudeness will achieve more than kindness." And he really believes in it.

The authors of the series came up with the intrigue themselves, without referring to Conan Doyle. Dr. Watson and housekeeper Hudson were abducted, and the international criminal syndicate Krasnaya Nist is involved in the case. Amelia Rojas, who calls herself his daughter and has a suspiciously similar set of anti—crime skills, rushes to the aid of a London colleague - she is a detective, a fighter, and an inventor. At the same time, director Higgins is still true to his sense of proportion and does not turn Amelia into another Mary Sue, a jack of all trades, as was the case with the "Enola Holmes" dilogy about a talented suffragette sister.

Should I watch "Sherlock and Daughter"

The main problem of the series "Sherlock and Daughter" is the budget. The creators obviously skimped on everything from computer graphics to actors outside of the two titular protagonists from the title. The role of the legendary James Moriarty is played by almost famous Australian actor Joe Klochek, known only for the remake of "Children of Corn" in 2020. As a result, the professor was given only one episode for the entire season (according to the official credits).

Flashbacks are scarce, they are also speculative walks through memories in order to recreate all the actions of criminals in the right sequence. Each new movie or TV series brought something different to this canvas, but the James Duff show was limited to standard captions in an ornate style from Conan Doyle's books, which should convey the spirit of the literary source. But they don't, because there's a deliberate distance between the series and the book.

Let's leave aside the detective story: it can be evaluated after the end of the launch season, the first episodes rather outline the intrigue. Another thing is the relationship of the main characters. At first, they are given as a caustic social commentary on the topic of militant feminism at the end of the 19th century (the action takes place in London in 1896), but quickly drown in the subordinate relationship of the Jedi and padawan when Thewlis's character takes full control over the actions of a Native American woman.

No matter how unbearable Holmes is, he still makes the viewer fall in love with him, such is the paradox of this hero. He himself is not averse to admiring his achievements, in one of the scenes he literally tells his daughter's assistant: "Listen and keep quiet, then one day you can tell the children that you studied with the great Sherlock Holmes." In response, he gets a slap in the face, but the audience is already delighted and subdued.

Holmes was written out by Thewlis completely according to the Stanislavsky system, it is impossible to break away from him. But the series itself lacks conceptual integrity. You can love or dislike the comic book version with Downey Jr., the eccentric comedy "Holmes & Watson" or the elegantly lyrical "Mr. Holmes" with Ian McKellen, but everywhere all the elements are carefully adjusted to each other.

New characters like Mr. and Mrs. Halligan, Inspectors Bullivant and Whitlock, and bandit Clarence Halfpenny performed by saxophonist Kojo Kamara are also introduced here — but they all feel like feature characters without proper depth and elaboration, as if they were hired in the show under a GPH contract.

However, Thewlis himself can gradually become annoying: he seems to be trying to present his character on the stage of the Albert Hall - excessive theatricality and stiffness do not correspond to the tonality of the series and the ensemble. Thewlis is great, but the show doesn't always deserve that kind of game. All that remains is to look at him and be rewarded for it. So, during the first half of the season, we will see several transformations into natural freaks that are not important to the plot, but are mandatory for the hero's ego: for example, into a medium who, for a modest fee, allows gullible Londoners to communicate with the dead in a special "house of death."

It is unlikely that a new film adaptation of the eternal classic will be able, despite the original script, to change the balance of power in the much-loved British "Sherlockiade". Moreover, at least one more film adaptation is coming on the heels of the release, but this time about Holmes' adventures in India, where he meets his Indian daughter Cher. On the other hand, the series "Sherlock and Daughter" has one major advantage, at least in Russia. We are unlikely to find out how Amediatek managed not only to acquire an American series from the top of expectations, but also to release it two weeks before the United States. But it's hard not to appreciate this fact, and Holmes is definitely loved here no less than in America, and they will look at Thewlis in the new role with all rigor, but also with love.