EXCLUSIVE: CBS’s Sherlock Holmes reboot Elementary has solved its first big mystery — who will play the famous detective. Former Eli Stone star Jonny Lee Miller has been tapped as the lead of the project, a modern take on the cases of Sherlock Holmes who now lives in New York City. Robert Doherty wrote the script and is executive producing the CSB TV Studios pilot with Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly. Michael Cuesta is on board to direct. Following his stint as the title character on the ABC drama series Eli Stone, British actor Miller did an arc on Dexter. He most recently starred in Danny Boyle’s stage version of Frankenstein in London, a role that earned him a best actor Evening Standard Theatre Award. He shared it with his co-lead Benedict Cumberbatch who coincidentally plays Holmes on BBC’s much lauded series Sherlock, a modern update of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic set in London. Miller, repped by IFA and Independent Talent Group, will next be seen in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows and Neil Jordan’s Byzantium.
Jonny Lee Miller To Play Sherlock Holmes In CBS Pilot 'Elementary'
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You know who would have been good in this role? That guy from Tinker Tailor, Benedict Cumberbatch.
Huh… interesting choice. Didn’t picture him, but think he’ll do a fine job. Elementary is a fun script.
Johnny Lee Miller was great on “Eli Stone.” Can’t wait to see him in this new series.
You can’t be serious. Cumberbatch is widely considered the best Sherlock Holmes. Do yourself a favor and watch the BBC version on Netflix or Amazon.
Agreed. The only thing I hate about the BBC’s “Sherlock” is that the first season was only three episodes and the second will be a wait!
What??? The second series already came out. It’s the third series we are waiting on!
How weird that he just finished a stint in the West End opposite Benedict Cumberbatch – the guy currently being celebrated in the UK for being the new modern Sherlock for the BBC. At least he knows what he’s getting into!
Celebrated in the UK and a hell of a lot of other places too, Cumberbatch’s version is in 180 countries for crying out loud! Most discerning fans who would be interested in Holmes are already hooked on the BBC version. Oh wait it’s CBS…I forgot to lower the bar.
Sorry I won’t be watching. I was happily surprised to love the Cumberbatch version and like Downey’s. Trying for a third is just ridiculously unoriginal and silly.
Exactly. It’s originally? Why won’t they just broadcast the BBC version. It’s gorgeous television, it’s loved everywhere in the world… just the U.S. don’t get it.
As a fan of the Benedict version, I will still give this new one a shot. Why not? Before I saw the contemporary BBC version I thought “what could they possibly do to make Sherlock feel fresh?” and they did so within 8 minutes (that scene where Watson meets Sherlock for the first time in the morgue hit me). So why not give this one the benefit of the doubt? If could just be a ripoff of the BBC version, or transplanting it to NY with new writers could make it fresh. Let’s not be dismissive snobs here.
It’s CBS where they don’t let crime drama be complex. If you want complex crime drama you have to go to cable for it. Right Now FX Justified is filling that void.
This won’t make it past the pilot. If it does people will stop watching it turns out to a be another formulaic by the numbers procedural.
You have a point here, and if it gets picked up I’d probably watch the first episode to see if it truly is a trainwreck or not. Still, the BBC version is the definitive one for me. I’m not sure how a show with 20 or so episodes a season could possibly be better (or comparable) to the extreme well-crafted 3 episode movies we get with Sherlock. If this were HBO or FX or AMC I’d be far less skeptical, but this has all the ingredients for a disaster. How a classy guy like Jonny Lee Miller attached himself to this project, who is friends with Cumberbatch, is mystifying. I don’t know, maybe there’s something we don’t know yet.
They do Mary – on your local PBS station. Unfortunately (?) there are only 3 -90’s per series. Not enough for US TV.
Very interesting to me, that in the commentary track for “The Hounds of Baskerville”, Gattis and Moffat, in reply to a question about the Downey movies being out at the same time as the BBC series, say that they think there is room for a multitude of Sherlocks. Of course, given their response to CBS going ahead with the pilot, I don’t think they thought it would happen so soon.
The folks working on the CBS version are going to need to be very careful how they go with this.
So is this a us version of the hit British show? Cause that one was seriously good. Except the episodes with moriarty, who was totally annoying and stupid.
Moriarty was weird and disconcerting, and I think that might turn people off–but I found him to be truly chilling and utterly fun to watch. His turn in the season 2 finale left me completely awestruck.
No, CBS asked Moffat to do a US version of Sherlock but, since Sherlock is doing so well they said “No”, so CBS said, “Well fuck you” and is now doing this. Basically, the BBC is fully prepared to sue if this show is too much like theirs.
Hmmmmmmmmm…
Not only is CBS going ahead with a pilot for a contemporary Sherlock Holmes series with inordinate speed after having failed to procure the American rights to the format of the BBC series Sherlock [thus getting that show’s producer’s dander up], they’ve cast Mr. Miller from Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein – whose co-star, Mr. Cumberbatch, stars in the BBC Sherlock – as their Holmes.
It looks to me like they’re just daring the BBC show’s producers to sue.
This could get very interesting. It’s already pretty entertaining!
This is hilarious! Although I feel a bit bad for Johnny. I am sure he is very good but you can see already it reads in gossip like, “Damn we can’t get Benedict Cumberbatch. I know! Let’s get that guy who alternated roles in Frankenstein and co-won a theatre award with him!”
I think the show sounds dumb and I don’t plan on watching…but damn do I want a feature article on the behind the scenes of this production!
A modern take on Sherlock Holmes? Hmmm…wonder where they got that idea? Maybe he should ask his former co-lead, Mr. Cumberbatch. Should call it ‘Holmes’ (sorry, ‘Sherlock’ was already taken). Like most re-workings of British ideas, CBS will find a way to screw it up.
Or maybe they got the idea from the unproduced Sherlock Holmes series at ABC, also entitled Elementary.
Or maybe they got the idea from the CBS produced pilot “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” from 1987 or any of the hundreds of films and TV Holmes productions that were updated to the modern setting of the film and not set when the stories were written. If you knew anything about the history of Holmes films you would know that setting Holmes in the time of the original stories was the exception to the rule for most of the last 100 years and “updating” Holmes is neither a “unique” or “new” idea.
Seriously, with 50 Eille Norwood films set in the 20s, 3 Clive Brook/Reginald Owen films in the 20s/30s, 5 Arthur Wontner films set in the 30s, 12 Rathbone/Bruce films set in the 40s, Sherlock Holmes TV pilots set in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s, CBS are just lifting ideas from the smae places the BBC is.
Absolutely right, Shane. There will always be another Sherlock Holmes.
This is the saddest thing I have ever read…
So true… they seem so desperate to copy “Sherlock”, it’s ridiculous… Benedict Cumberbatch is unbeatable!!!
I find this very odd that CBS would make a go at what is essentially the exact same concept as the BBC’s take on a modern Sherlock Holmes, especially with the connection of Cumberbatch and Miller! I also find it strange and quite frankly disappointing that BBC only makes 3 episodes per season!? It’s a great show, but not enough of it. Unlike a few others I found Moriarty’s character very interesting, entertaing, and strange. And while Cumberbatch portrays a worthy entertaining Sherlock Holmes, he’s an odd looking bloke! I honestly don’t know what to make of it yet hat CBS basically hijacked the idea from the BBC. I’m very interested to see if they pull this off and where they go with it. Even though it has the strong stench of a “ripoff”, as a long time Sherlock Holmes fan I’ll give it a shot and hold my judgement till I see a few episodes.
I’ve enjoyed the movies but would’ve enjoyed them more under any other name than Sherlock Holmes. Because I’d rather had a more true to the Sir Arther Conandoyle’s serious brilliant character that is the Sherlock Holmes legend. The movies were entertaining but just didn’t satisfy me intellectually as being worthy to be Sherlock Holmes, under any other title they’d have been great.
Semper Fi
Nate Miller (Sgt, USMC Retired)
How ironic, JLM costarred with Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) in Frankenstein. They alternated roles of Dr. Frankenstein and The Monster.
And Jonny Lee Miller is very close friends with Jude Law, who’s Watson to Robert Downey Jr’s, Holmes.
What an incredible coincidence! Jonny and Benedict have worked together in Danny Boyle`s version of Frankenstein, sharing the same character and now the audience will have the chance of comparing the two actors doing the same character, again. These producers are so creative!!!
By the way, I love Benedict Cumberbatch doing Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman is great as John Watson. The stories are very well written. I don`t think we need another Sherlock so soon. Sorry, Jonny.
Small world isn’t it since Benedict Cumberbatch is playing Holmes in the BBC contemporary Holmes series SHERLOCK set in London. Casting Wilson, ah I mean Watson, will be all important since the Holmes saga, at heart, for the 21st century is a buddy almost bromance story (see Laurie and Leonard, Downey and Law, Cumberbatch and Freeman).
Wow…
How about NO.
Is the reason we are seeing a new Sherlock reboot every week that the copyright on the character has expired?
Yes. The copyrights to all of the Holmes stories expired in most countries between 1980 and 2000. There are 10 later stories from “The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes” that remain in copyright in the US only but all of the earlier stories have entered the public domain, which means they no longer have copyright protection and can be used by anyone without authorisation for whatever purpose they want. The estates that used to control the rights will also license to anyone the ability to call their work “authorised” for a fee. This is their main income stream since the copyrights expired, as they have been denied trademark protections on the characters.
Hi,
‘House’ finishes, and we now have 3 concurrent Sherlock Holmes franchises going on. You can’t treat the detective like he’s a vampire! Overkill.
A braver decision by an American network would have been to see what happens if the BBC/Hartswood production was broadcast natively (and with accompanying improved funding/writing team), rather than just on PBS. As the Cumberbatch version has a contemporary setting, nothing would prevent it having stories in the Big Apple.
Kind regards,
Shakir Razak
Good Luck, Jonny. You are perfectly aware how good Benedict is by working alongside with him in Danny Boyle’s stage production Frankenstein.
I fail to understand why so many people think the BBC version of Sherlock is the first and only “modern” take. The Basil Rathbone films showed Sherlock using a telephone, riding in a car, and fighting Nazis. It was Sherlock set in the 40’s, and when was it filmed? The 40’s !!! I’m SO tired of the American-bashing which states that Americans can only understand reality shows, while the British NEVER produce “crap telly.” There have been no decent American TV shows? REALLY? Americans can’t turn out as good a TV show as the British? REALLY? I loved BBC’s “Sherlock,” but I’m tired of seeing it inferred that I’m a moron because I’m American. I want to see the CBS version be TERRIFIC.
Of COURSE America turns out great TV (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, etc….I know the list, everyone does).
But come on, when a major network tries for not the second version of a story and character in three years but the THIRD version?…it fully deserves to be mocked.
Not Johnny’s fault, we all have to pay the bills.
There have been a couple modern takes on Sherlock Holmes. But what i wonder is did they go through the estate to get the US rights? I mean other than the fact that he is one of their national heroes the reason the UK can run with Sherlock movies and TV shows is because he is in public domain in the UK but not in the US. Unless they make it in Canada maybe.
The copyright to all but the final ten stories collected in the “Case-Book” have expired in the US. The copyright in the dozens of stories up to “The Problem at Thor Bridge” are in the public domain in the US and free to use without permission.
The Estates (their are two estates who have equal rights to license the rights to the copyright stories) offer non-exclusive license to whomever will pay their requested fees. While CBS does not legally have to license the rights to those 10 stories to produce a series based on or inspired by the public domain stories they probably will seek a license from either or both estates and will be given one.
There have been more than a couple of modern takes on the Sherlock Holmes. There have been well over 100 films that were set in the year they were made and not the year the story was set. Up until the 1960s it was the exception to the rule to set Sherlock Holmes in the Victorian/Edwardian era of most of the stories. Hammer’s “Hound of the Baskervilles” was something like the 100th Holmes film ever made and only the 5th set in or around the time of the original story’s setting.
Hate to burst your bubble, but “The Last Bow” is a Sherlock Holmes story written by Arthur Conan Doyle that had Sherlock Holmes driving a car, using a telephone and fighting Germans (although not Nazis, I don’t think)… set against the dawn of World War I.
All we need now is for Angelina to drop Brad for Benedict, and the cycle will be complete.
I wouldn’t hesitate a second if I were her … Cumberbatch is a bazillion times hotter than Brad.
Ewwwww. Not even close. Besides JLM is the hottest actor out there.
I agree with every word….except I would add about 5 more w’s to ewwwww!!
I’m not sure how I feel about this… I doubt that it will be better than the BBC version.
I don’t understand why USA needs to do remakes or other versions of EVERY serie. UK already do good shows. Sherlock BBC is already brilliant.
well, at least they got a great english actor. to be quite honest, I think i’m a little excited to see how they execute the whole thing. BBC’s Sherlock is already flawless television, in my opinion but I like JLM and I hope the writing is up to par. could be interesting.
Jonny Lee Miller is a very able actor, and his performance in “Byron” was masterful and quite similar to the Sherlock Holmes archetype. It’s just that it’s a really weird and presumably shameless money-grabbing move on the part of CBS. The best case scenario for this is that they create a Holmes-like character (much like House was) instead of cribbing directly from the source material. The other issue is that it will be 20 something episodes a season, which is a recipe for creating needless filler in 1 hour drama series (um, Alcatraz, LOST, CSI, etc, etc, all spoiled by having factory written episodes). If it were 6 episodes or even 10, or better yet a miniseries, it would have much better chances of having some kind of quality.
Meanwhile in United States…
What’s wrong with all these American remakes of TV shows and movies? Can’t you write your own?
Wow, I’m not sure there are enough commenters patting themselves on the back for making the Miller/Cumberbatch “that’s so ironic, they’re both Sherlock” connection — it was only in the same source article.
Exactly. The smug self-amusement of the commentariat knows no bounds. (Re)stating the obvious isn’t clever.
Does anyone here know if Miller’s ever worked with the guy in the British version of Sherlock Holmes, um, … what’s his name?, er, Cumberbatch? Anyone?
I guess you don’t pay much attention to TV development, do you Monika? There are always large number of shows in development, the vast majority not being adaptations of any foreign format. Foreigners have very selective attention, because they never seem to have any awareness of this, yet year after year, they latch onto the few shows that are developed from foreign formats and bitch their little heads off about it.
Talk about riding Benedict Cumberbatch’s shirt tails. Shame on Jonny Lee Miller. While I’m here I’ll just say Miller wasnt a patch on Cumberbatch in Frankenstein and particularly his Victor Frankenstein which he couldnt be bothered with at all.