Say Goodbye To Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock As It's Officially The End Of An Era

Published Jul 6, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT

Sherlock Holmes’ history on TV has been quite interesting, with direct and faithful adaptations of Conan Doyle’s works and other shows heavily inspired by them but with many changes, such as Monk, Psych, and House. Others have given a twist to Holmes and company, as did the BBC’s Sherlock, which famously brought the characters and their stories to modern-day London. Although the show saw a drastic decline in its final two seasons, it ranks among the best detective TV shows of all time.

Sherlock’s direct competition was CBS’ Elementary, also a modern take on the Great Detective but set in New York City and with a gender-swapped version of Watson. Elementary is widely regarded as the best modern Sherlock Holmes TV show, and it was followed by other modern adaptations of the characters, such as Watson on CBS. As fun as these versions were, the end of modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes has arrived.

The Era Of Modern Sherlock Holmes Adaptations Is Finally Over

Credit: BBC via MovieStillsDB

When the BBC’s Sherlock arrived, modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes felt new and fresh, and the concept was quite intriguing. Sherlock and Elementary brilliantly brought the characters into the modern world, adapting their stories to modern technology and social issues, and making enough changes to make them unique while also staying true to Conan Doyle’s works. However, as successful and fun as they were, the era of modern adaptations of The Great Detective has ended.

Instead, what’s taking over now are more accurate adaptations of Sherlock Holmes in terms of time setting. On the side of movies, the Enola Holmes trilogy has been very well-received, and it has introduced the audience to a third Holmes sibling who is as smart as her famous brother. The Enola Holmes movies are set in the Victorian era, fitting with Conan Doyle’s stories.

On TV, Victorian-era adaptations of Sherlock Holmes have regained popularity thanks to Prime Video’s Young Sherlock. Inspired by Andrew Lane’s book series of the same name, Young Sherlock follows a 19-year-old Holmes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) who teams up with a young Moriarty (Dónal Finn) to solve a crime. This leads them to uncover a massive conspiracy, along with dark secrets from the Holmes family. Young Sherlock was a hit with critics and general audiences, and it was renewed for a second season.

At the time of writing, there are no more modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes in the works by big networks or streamers, and instead, the attention is going towards those with an accurate time setting but with interesting changes that make them even more engaging.

BBC's Sherlock Proved A Harsh Truth About Victorian Adaptations

While projects like Enola Holmes and Young Sherlock have succeeded, Sherlock proved a harsh truth about Victorian-era adaptations of The Great Detective and company. Between seasons 3 and 4, Sherlock released the special episode “The Abominable Bride”, which stood out for being a story set in Victorian London. Unfortunately, the episode didn’t commit entirely to it, and it had a messy plot.

Surely, the biggest mistake of “The Abominable Bride” was mixing the show’s modern setting with the Victorian era, ultimately revealing that the latter was a drug-induced hallucination. Even if it had just been set in the Victorian era, “The Abominable Bride” didn’t have a strong story, and it couldn’t have succeeded on its own. Through it, Sherlock proved that accurately adapting Sherlock Holmes and his accompanying characters isn’t an easy task.

It’s to be seen which other Victorian-era adaptations of Sherlock Holmes will join Young Sherlock and Enola Holmes, how different they will be, and whether they will succeed, but for now, it’s fair to say the era of modern-day adaptations of the Great Detective is over.

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  Sherlock

  

  7/10

  Release Date 2010 - 2017-00-00

  Network BBC One

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  Young Sherlock

  

  9/10

  Release Date March 4, 2026

  Network Prime Video

  • 

    Hero Fiennes Tiffin

    Sherlock Holmes

  • 

    Zine Tseng

    Princess Gulun Shou’an