Sherlock & Daughter

Sherlock & Daughter is an American mystery television series created by Brendan Foley, with showrunner James Duff based on the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sherlock & Daughter
Genre	Mystery Period drama
Created by	Brendan Foley
Based on	Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Showrunner	James Duff
Directed by	Bryn Higgins
Starring	David Thewlis Blu Hunt Ardal O'Hanlon Fiona Glascott Aidan McArdle Kojo Kamara Joe Klocek Dougray Scott Owen Roe Seán Duggan
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Blair Krempel Mark Wood Michael Emerson Mike Sears Charlotte Reid Steven Fullagar Peter Gerwe Ivan Dunleavy Michael Grade Dominic Barlow Chris Philip Patricia Brown Jean-François Doray Karine Martin Brendan Foley James Duff
Cinematography	Cathal Watters
Running time	42 minutes
Production companies	Walking Entropy Krempelwood MBM3 Films Starlings Television Distribution StoryFirst
Original release
Network	The CW (US) Discovery+ (UK and Ireland)
Release	April 16, 2025 (2025-04-16) – present

The series premiered on April 16, 2025, on The CW and Discovery+.

Premise

In 1896, Sherlock Holmes becomes embroiled in a malevolent conspiracy involving the Red Thread criminal syndicate, who have kidnapped his closest friends. He joins forces with Amelia Rojas, a young Native American woman whose mother was recently murdered. As they work together to crack the case, Amelia also sets out to learn if the great detective is her long-lost father.

Cast and characters

Main

• David Thewlis as Sherlock Holmes, a renowned private detective living at 221B Baker Street who seeks to uncover the mysterious criminal syndicate known as the Red Thread
• Blu Hunt as Amelia Rojas, a young American from California who arrives in London following her mother's murder to find Sherlock Holmes, her suspected father
• Ardal O'Hanlon as Mr. Halligan, Sherlock's butler and coach driver
• Fiona Glascott as Lady Violet Somerset, a wealthy socialite who trains young women in practising proper etiquette in British high society
• Aidan McArdle as Chief Inspector Whitlock, the head of Scotland Yard who is well acquainted with Sherlock
• Kojo Kamara^[a] as Clarence Halfpenny, the owner of a carriage workshop
• Joe Klocek as Daniel "Dan" Moriarty, alias Michael Wylie, Professor Moriarty's estranged son and a juvenile offender who grew up in Australia
• Dougray Scott^[a] as Professor James Moriarty, Sherlock's arch-enemy who is incarcerated at Newgate Prison
• Owen Roe^[b] as Lord Salisbury, the prime minister of the United Kingdom
• Seán Duggan^[b] as Dr. John Watson, Sherlock's closest friend and a skilled physician

Recurring

• Mary O'Driscoll as Mrs. Halligan, Sherlock's housekeeper
  • O'Driscoll also portrays Mrs. Hudson, Mrs. Halligan's twin sister and Sherlock's landlady
• Paul Reid as Inspector Bullivant, a senior police officer in charge of the investigation at the American ambassador's residence
• Gia Hunter as Clara Anderson, the American ambassador's daughter, who befriends Amelia on the boat ride to England
• Phillip P. Keene as Paul Anderson, Clara's father and the newly-appointed American ambassador to the United Kingdom
• Ivana Miličević as Marjorie Anderson, Clara's mother and Paul's wife
• Aisling Kearns as Cassie, the Anderson family's maid
• Savonna Spracklin as Lucia Rojas, Amelia's deceased mother and a proficient engineer who appears during flashbacks. Born Little Dove, her ethnicity is revealed in "For Kith and Kin" as "the daughter of a rancher and an Apache, with a Spanish grandfather".
• Orén Kinlan as Shaw McPherson, the leader of the Baker Street Irregulars, a gang of street children whom Sherlock hires to find information
• Shashi Rami as Bertram "Bertie" Birtwistle, an insurance investigator searching for the American ambassador's missing jewels
• Antonio Aakeel as Detective Swann, part of the Scotland Yard scientific division, who is fascinated with the newest technological innovations

Guest

• Hyoie O'Grady as Charles "Charlie" Holroyd, the Anderson family's coach driver
• Andy Kellegher as Weams, a criminal affiliated with the Red Thread
• Michael Ellen Sean as Magott, Weams's partner, who is affiliated with the Red Thread
• Caolan Byrne as Dankworth, a prison officer at Newgate Prison loyal to Moriarty
• Jack Meade as Lord Withersea, a nobleman working for the Red Thread
• Seamus O'Hara as O'Leary, Withersea's Irish bodyguard
• Ruairí Heading as Pete Pound, a technician who installs a telephone at 221B Baker Street
• Rose O'Neill as Emma, a debutante under Lady Violet's tutulege
• Maximilian Henhappel as Herr Bernt, an associate of Dan Moriarty
• John Doran as Jeremy Stephens, Lord Salisbury's private secretary

Episodes

No. in season	Title [1]	Directed by [2]	Written by	Original release date [1]
1	"The Challenge"	Bryn Higgins	Brendan Foley	April 16, 2025 (2025-04-16)
2	"The Common Thread"	Bryn Higgins	Brendan Foley	April 23, 2025 (2025-04-23)
3	"Partners in Crime"	Bryn Higgins	Teleplay by : Shelly Goldstein & Brendan Foley	May 7, 2025 (2025-05-07)
4	"For Kith and Kin"	Bryn Higgins	Teleplay by : Shelly Goldstein & Brendan Foley	May 14, 2025 (2025-05-14)
5	"Doubting Thomas"	Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers	Micah War Dog	May 21, 2025 (2025-05-21)
6	"Sound Connections"	Bryn Higgins	James Duff	May 28, 2025 (2025-05-28)
7	"The Golden Fleece"	Bryn Higgins	Shelly Goldstein	June 4, 2025 (2025-06-04)
8	"The Last Dance"	Bryn Higgins	James Duff	June 11, 2025 (2025-06-11)

Production

The series was announced in February 2024, along with the casting of Thewlis, Hunt and Scott.^[3][2] The series was created by Brendan Foley, who acts as executive producer alongside showrunner James Duff. Micah Wright, Shelly Goldstein, and Foley provided the scripts.^[4]

Filming took place in Dublin in April 2024, with North Great George's Street being used for exterior shooting.^[5] Filming also occurred in County Wicklow.^[6] Production wrapped in June.^[7]

The series consists of eight episodes, all directed by Bryn Higgins.^[2]

Release

Promotional poster

The series premiered on April 16, 2025^[8] on The CW in the US and Discovery+ in the UK and Ireland.^[9]

Internationally, the series is broadcast by Yle and Amedia in Finland, NRK in Norway, DR in Denmark, SVT in Sweden, Amediateka in Russia, RÚV in Iceland, and SBS in Australia.^[2] Federation International in July 2025 helped negotiate the sale of the show to Sky Italia in Italy, Bell Media in Canada, RTS in Switzerland, Nova in Greece, Disney Entertainment in the Balkans, Tivibu in Turkey and TV3 Group in the Baltics.^[10]

Reception

Critical ratings

The series opened to generally positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 75%.^[11] MediaPost stated that "The great David Thewlis mesmerizes in the Role of Sherlock Holmes. This show is a high-quality, well-made adventure and mystery series – two words that add up to one word: Entertainment."^[12] The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Thewlis is a perfect fit" in an otherwise "modestly amusing" series with possible future potential. It singled out Dougray Scott for his "theatrical physicality" as Professor Moriarty.^[13] The A.V. Club thought the show "successfully intertwined mystery with melodrama"^[14] while TV Guide also praised Thewlis as "perfectly cast" alongside Blu Hunt as Sherlock's possible daughter, and highlighted supporting performances by Dougray Scott and Fiona Glascott.^[15] RogerEbert.com praised Hunt's performance, but criticised the writing of the show.^[16]

Ratings

The first season of Sherlock & Daughter became the most-watched season on The CW broadcast network in the US, the second-most watched on The CW streaming app and the fourth-most watched on the Max streaming service following its release.^[10]

The following are the viewership ratings for the first season's broadcast on The CW in the US.

Viewership and ratings per episode of Sherlock & Daughter

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"The Challenge"	April 16, 2025	0.0	0.49[17]	0.0	0.36	0.0	0.85[17]
2	"The Common Thread"	April 23, 2025	0.0	0.48[18]	0.0	0.38	0.0	0.86[18]
3	"Partners in Crime"	May 7, 2025	0.1	0.44[19]	0.0	0.35	0.1	0.80[19]
4	"For Kith and Kin"	May 14, 2025	0.0	0.44[20]	0.0	0.40	0.1	0.84[20]
5	"Doubting Thomas"	May 21, 2025	0.0	0.46[21]	0.0	0.42	0.1	0.88[21]
6	"Sound Connections"	May 28, 2025	0.0	0.53[22]	0.0	0.46	0.1	1.00[22]
7	"The Golden Fleece"	June 4, 2025	0.0	0.56[23]	0.0	0.41	0.1	0.97[23]
8	"The Last Dance"	June 11, 2025	0.0	0.51[24]	0.0	0.44	0.0	0.95[24]

Notes

1. Appears in only three episodes, but is credited amongst the main cast.
2. Appears in only two episodes, but is credited amongst the main cast.