Watson is an American television series created by Craig Sweeny which premiered on CBS on January 26, 2025. The series, described as a "medical drama with detective elements", revolves around the character of Dr. John Watson from Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, with Morris Chestnut portraying the character. It is the second CBS series to adapt the Holmes stories, after Elementary. While the two programs are otherwise unrelated, their creative teams overlap. In March 2025, the series renewed for a second season which premiered on October 13, 2025.
One year after Sherlock Holmes's apparent death at the hands of his archenemy Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls, Dr. John Watson resumes his medical practice by opening the "Holmes Clinic" in Pittsburgh to treat patients with strange and unidentifiable issues. Soon however, Watson must face his past when evidence surfaces indicating that Moriarty is still alive.[1]
Cast
The cast of Watson
Main
Morris Chestnut as John Watson, a former London-based consulting detective and the head of the Holmes Clinic of Diagnostic Medicine. To aid his patients' cases, he applies a specific type of deductive reasoning that he learned from his years working with Sherlock Holmes.
Kevin Vidal plays Watson as a younger nurse in the episode "Take a Family History"
Eve Harlow as Ingrid Derian, an aloof but highly skilled neurologist with an enigmatic past. She has a shaky relationship with her colleagues owing to her stony manner and questionable methods.
Amanda Arcuri plays a teenage Ingrid in the episode "Take a Family History"
Peter Mark Kendall as Stephens Croft and Adam Croft, identical twin brothers, acting as infectious disease and functional medicine specialists at the clinic. Stephens, a Johns Hopkins graduate, is an emotionally withdrawn workaholic, while Adam, who attended Boston University, talks too much. They have a strained relationship because Adam is dating Stephens' ex-fiancée.
Inga Schlingmann as Sasha Lubbock, an affable specialist in Immunology and Rheumatology. She is torn between her birth parents from China and her adoptive family in Dallas.
Ritchie Coster as Shinwell Johnson, a former criminal from London and an acquaintance of Holmes and Watson who works as the clinic's administrative aide, his connections often proving very useful to the team. In season 2, he becomes a trainee nurse.
Rochelle Aytes as Mary Morstan, an East Coast surgeon and Watson's estranged wife. Despite their impending divorce, she maintains a productive working relationship with Watson, acting as his voice of sanity and attempting to rein in his more irregular techniques.
Recurring
Randall Park as Professor James Moriarty (season 1), a criminal mastermind and Sherlock Holmes' archenemy who re-emerges from his presumed death with a nefarious agenda[2]
Kacey Rohl as Hannah Burke (season 1), Moriarty's subordinate who forces Shinwell to carry out her employer's bidding[3]
Bethany Brown as Devin Chaplin, the Executive Vice President of Human Resources of UHOP
Amanda Crew as Lauren (season 2; guest season 1), a lawyer and Stephens' ex-girlfriend who is engaged to Adam
Tika Sumpter as Laila Bynum (season 2; guest season 1), a pediatric oncologist treating Ashleigh Burke who forms a relationship with Watson[4][5]
Robert Carlyle as Sherlock Holmes (season 2), a brilliant British consulting detective and Watson's best friend who was seemingly killed by Moriarty[6]
Matt Berry voices an auditory hallucination of Holmes in the first season episode "Teeth Marks"[7][8]
Noah Mills as Beck Whyte (season 2), a washed-up tech worker in exile from Silicon Valley whom Ingrid meets at group therapy[9]
John Cassini as Ivan Ferry (season 2), a group therapist who is treating Ingrid and Beck
Guest
Nat Faxon as Hobie McSorley (season 1), an experimental geneticist and old friend of Watson's with a colorful personality[10]
Kiera Allen as Gigi Grigoryan, Ingrid's paraplegic sister. Beatrice Schneider plays a teenaged Gigi.
Juanita Jennings as Elizabeth Morstan (season 2), Mary's mother who is admitted for accidental self poisoning after exhibiting dementia-like symptoms.[15]
Khary Payton as Miles McClung (season 2), a bakery owner who is discovered to be Elizabeth Morstan's first-born child, and thus, Mary's heretofore unknown older brother
Tzi Ma as Jun (season 2), Sasha's long lost birth uncle
Clarke Peters as Hamish Watson (season 2), a saxophonist who is John Watson's estranged father[16]
At Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, detective Sherlock Holmes and master criminal James Moriarty fight before plunging into the water.[a] Holmes's friend Dr. John Watson jumps in after them, sustaining a traumatic brain injury in the process. Waking up in a Swiss hospital, Watson learns that he was the only survivor. He is informed by associate Shinwell Johnson that Holmes secretly funded a private clinic in his will so Watson could find a new purpose if he died. Months later, the Holmes Clinic for Diagnostic Medicine is operational at the University Hospital of Pittsburgh. Watson and his handpicked team take on a new patient at the request of his estranged wife, hospital administrator Mary Morstan. The patient, Erika Filipello, appears to be dying from fatal insomnia, but Watson discovers not only that she has a genetic deficiency of biotinidase, but also that her similarly ill cousin Autumn is actually the girl's half-sister. However, Autumn falls into septic shock and Watson cannot call in his usual surgeon because of bad weather. Mary, a former surgeon, agrees to operate, saving Autumn's life. Later, Watson retrieves his old case files at Mary's encouragement. Shinwell delivers a case of genetic samples to a still-alive Moriarty (Randall Park), who reminds him that he is watching "always and everywhere."
Entrepreneur Andrew Tanner (Damian O'Hare) is left with a bullet lodged in his brain from an attempted murder. His case is further complicated when he claims to be the famous Scottish military officer Patrick Ferguson. Watson gives his team a lesson in the value of applying investigative techniques while deducing the cause of Tanner's condition. Stephens is able to glean from social media that he has symptoms consistent with Huntington's disease. Combined with Sasha's search of the crime scene and information from Watson's "Irregulars," the team realizes that Tanner is faking his insanity; having botched his "murder," the patient plans to commit suicide to preserve his family's life insurance. Watson then notices an additional symptom while foiling Tanner's suicide attempt and determines that he actually has Wilson's disease, which can be treated. To remove the bullet, Ingrid persuades former flame Isaac (Hampton Fluker), who blames her for ruining his career, to operate. Isaac declines a job offer from Mary and warns her not to trust Ingrid. Johnson is approached by Moriarty's agent (Kacey Rohl), who has him switch out Watson's medication with an identical set of pills.
Aspiring comedian Molly Jones (Djouliet Amara) collapses while performing and comes to the Holmes Clinic; there, she explains how previous doctors had diagnosed her with epilepsy, but John then collapses himself. He sustains a second traumatic brain injury and begins hallucinating visions of Sherlock and of Moriarty's fused fingers. Watson accepts Molly as a patient and has Stephens look into her family history. He learns that "Molly" is actually Linda Mancini, daughter of convicted murderer Felicia Mancini (Lisa Arrindell). A visit to Felicia gives Watson vital clues and he identifies Molly's condition as that of long QT syndrome, which can cause sudden death. This insight also convinces him that Felicia was wrongfully convicted of drowning Molly's siblings. His own condition soon worsens, however, and the team forces him to return home. A guilt-ridden Shinwell is told he can switch Watson's pills back, curing him of the hallucinations. Molly undergoes surgery to fix her heart and evidence supplied by Watson enables the DA to initiate proceedings for releasing Felicia from prison. Mary visits Watson and warns him that she can no longer hide his condition from the hospital board. Meanwhile, Ingrid tries to get her spinal research project off the ground and Adam attempts to reconnect with Stephens.
During a team exercise to identify the clinic's next patient, Sasha diagnoses a rich lawyer (Michael Kostroff) with Cowden syndrome; while in surgery, the man dies on the table. Noticing Sasha's emotional distress, Watson learns that, while attending medical school, Sasha worked on a cadaver that also had Cowden syndrome. As Cowden is both hereditary and difficult to detect, Watson realizes that others may be at risk. He, Ingrid, and Sasha trace the cadaver to an Amish community in Lancaster, where the team is informed that the deceased had a sister, Rachel Smith (Sprague Grayden), who was banished from the community and now lives with her young son, Amos (Cruze McKinnon). When Amos starts having trouble breathing, Watson takes him in for treatment, but ultimately cedes his role to Ingrid after recognizing that he cannot be trusted with operating on patients in light of his condition. Sasha's efforts to have the Amish residents tested uncover more than a dozen cases of Cowden. Shinwell purchases a tracking device and plants it on the car of Moriarty's agent. He later retrieves it after seeing her with a sick young girl. Watson visits Mary at home and says that he will not contest their divorce, urging Mary to live her life even if he is not a part of it.
Watson faces a serious dilemma while treating Taryn Quintyne (Brittany Adebumola), who suffers from a rare form of sickle cell anemia; Taryn can be cured, but the existing cure is prohibitively expensive and would render her infertile. With Shinwell's help, he recruits unscrupulous genetics researcher Hobie McSorley (Nat Faxon) to devise a non-FDA-approved treatment using her bone marrow to replace the diseased cells and administer it to Taryn in secret. Despite efforts to keep the rest of the team in the dark, Stephens alerts them after recognizing Hobie's distinct birthmark. After reflecting on Watson's intentions, they collectively agree not to report him. Taryn suffers from complications just as Mary obtains proof of Watson's ethical violations. When she confronts him, Watson defends his decision and reveals that Taryn has become pregnant due to an unexpected failure of her IUD. Mary discharges her from the hospital and destroys the evidence. Ingrid turns to Sasha for help getting her sister Gigi (Kiera Allen) into the spinal project after running up against a hostile administrator. Stephens learns that Adam, who is in recovery for drug addiction, relapsed without his knowledge several years prior.
Stephens has a secret relationship with a camgirl named "Porsche" (Sofie Kane); when she collapses on a live feed, he asks the team for help. Watson guides the team as they use various clues in Porsche's apartment to find her address. This includes Adam reaching out to his lawyer girlfriend Lauren (Amanda Crew), who also happens to be Stephens' ex. Porsche is ultimately found and brought to the hospital, but her health is rapidly deteriorating from septic shock. Stephens recalls how Porsche once told him that she grew up on a rabbit farm in New Mexico; this reveals that her condition is in fact an undiagnosed case of bubonic plague from being bitten by an infected animal. As she recovers from the infection, she and Stephens amicably break up. Sasha buys a cake for Ingrid, who hates celebrating her birthday. Annoyed, Ingrid tells her off and questions why she should want to force happiness on others when she can't find it in her own life. That night, Sasha breaks up with her boyfriend upon realizing that he doesn't want to marry her.
Librarian Ginny Roberts (Caitlin Stasey) stumbles into the clinic with a condition that causes her memory to "reset" every three minutes, and repeatedly insisting that something is "eating" her from the inside. Shinwell is forced to once again switch out Watson's pills; this causes Watson to hear the voice of Sherlock Holmes (Matt Berry) inside his head. Accepting that someone is tampering with his medication, Watson has Stephens analyze the pills and confides in him his belief that Shinwell is responsible. A screening reveals a teratoma in Ginny's ovaries. During surgery to remove it, Watson speaks with Mary after noticing that she had visited Ginny several times during her stay. Mary reveals that she was pregnant when her ex-husband left to help Sherlock on his final case; the baby was miscarried and she chose not to tell him after he came home injured. Informed by Shinwell of Watson's suspicions, Moriarty arranges a suicide to deflect blame. He also visits Ingrid in secret and gives her human bones, saying that soon, they will find out "who she really is".
Irene Adler (Whoopie Van Raam) seeks out the Holmes Clinic to treat her son Angus (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez), claiming that he is Sherlock's biological child. Watson divides the team into two groups: Sasha and Adam are tasked with diagnosing Angus while Stephens and Ingrid must determine whether Irene is trying to deceive them. Despite being warned by a mistrustful Shinwell, Watson finds himself growing close to Angus after noticing how the boy's wit and insights match those of Sherlock. He suspects that Angus may be suffering from a genetic flaw that is hereditary to male members of the Holmes family. To prove this, he has Shinwell meet with Holmes' brother Mycroft (Vincent Gale) at the Diogenes Club to obtain the only known sample of Sherlock's DNA. The team learns that Irene has previously dabbled in charity fraud and realize that Angus is deliberately faking his condition. Irene steals the DNA sample and attempts to fly to Austria, but Watson and Shinwell intercept her. Watson explains how he knows Irene, suffering from multiple myeloma, only wanted to sell the sample and provide for her son. Irene then asks him to assume guardianship of Angus in the event of her death. To her surprise, however, Watson offers her the chance to participate in the clinical trial of a treatment that could save her life.
In 2010, a teenage Ingrid (Amanda Arcuri) accompanies her father Ivo (Andy Bean) after Gigi (Beatrice Schneider) is brought in with a spinal injury from a fall. A high-risk surgery is needed to prevent her losing the use of her legs, but the surgeon, fearing a malpractice suit, refuses to authorize the procedure. A nurse (Kevin Vidal) puts Ingrid in touch with Mary, then a junior attending, and when Ingrid explains that Gigi's injury was caused by the alcoholic Ivo's abuse, Mary arranges the surgery without permission. Upon being confronted by her boss (Martin Cummins), however, she reluctantly cancels the procedure, and Gigi is left permanently disabled. In 2025, Ingrid is forced to have Gigi admitted to UHOP when she suffers complications from her spinal treatment. She attempts to solicit Watson and the team's help while keeping her sister's true identity a secret to avoid losing her job for violating the project's ethical guidelines. Watson deduces on his own that Gigi has a form of hypothermia, the result of a genetic mutation unknown to Ingrid that reacted with Gigi's treatment. For endangering a patient, Mary tells Ingrid that she will be fired, and Watson makes it clear he will not oppose her decision. A flashback shows that after promising to care for Gigi, Ingrid murdered her father with an overdose of fentanyl and buried the body.
Shinwell is ordered to collect DNA samples from all four members of the team, for unknown purposes. Watson takes on Cameron Phipps (David Thompson) as a new patient; Phipps suffers from alien hand syndrome and has become increasingly desperate for treatment. Attempts to paralyze the hand with injections of neurotoxin fail, and Phipps seemingly commits manslaughter by pushing his brother Damian (Corey Sorenson) in front of a moving bus. Watson meets with Lestrade (Rachel Hayward), the detective handling the case, and persuades her not to charge Phipps. He also sends for a highly regarded neurosurgeon to deaden the nerves of Phipps' hand and reverse his condition. However, a chance meeting reveals to Watson that Phipps is a failed entrepreneur facing bankruptcy, and with Damian's death is now slated to inherit his ailing father's fortune. Unable to have him arrested, the team instead confront Phipps with the revelation that his father had numerous children out of wedlock, all of whom will be equally entitled to a share of the man's estate. Shinwell turns over a collection of fake samples to Moriarty's agent. Lestrade is impressed with Watson's handling of the case and gives him her card; as they walk out, a man who had unknowingly helped Phipps orchestrate the murder suddenly arrives and offers to testify against him in exchange for an opportunity to intern at the Holmes Clinic.
Watson confronts a traumatic event from his Army days that still weighs heavily on him after his friend's wife reaches out begging for help when her husband is seemingly having a psychotic break; Shinwell is asked for one last favour by Moriarty.
Following on from the previous episode, Moriarty has infected Adam with a synthetically modified virus specifically programmed to attack his genes. During a dinner, he displays mild memory loss. Watson reveals to the team his new DNA database accumulated via donations from patients. A disguised Moriarty arrives at the clinic, forcing Ingrid to sabotage research samples in Watson's lab, and promising to help her discover her true self. Adam's symptoms increase in severity and Stephens too becomes infected. Their condition is discovered to be an augmented form of HSV-1, which proves resistant to treatment. Shinwell (himself ailing thanks to Moriarty's infections) finally confesses to Watson his involvement with Moriarty, revealing the doctor's own research has been turned against him. Adam falls into a coma, and Stephens admits his feelings to Sasha before he too loses consciousness. Watson comes up with an experimental adeno-associated virus, but finds all his test samples ineffective owing to Ingrid's earlier sabotage. He is able to scramble together enough of a vector to make a working cure, but reveals to the team that it will only be enough to save one of the twins.
A coin toss results in Adam being given the antidote. With only a few days left to save Stephens, Shinwell approaches Moriarty's agent Hannah Burke, promising the clinic will treat her young daughter Ashleigh (Logan Mae) in exchange for access to his lab. Ashleigh has a brain tumour, treatable with chemotherapy, but her decreased weight is delaying any such procedure. As she starts experiencing nightly seizures, her oncologist Laila Bynum (Tika Sumpter) joins the team to help. Eventually, Watson realises Ashleigh has MCAD, and that her seizures are a result of her body's inability to process certain sustenance. He prescribes a diet of corn starch that will help her gain enough weight to commence treatment. Moriarty makes further attempts to corrupt Ingrid, but she infects him with the same virus he used on the Crofts. Watson promises to cure him if he'll hand over the needed vector. Stephens is cured and starts dating Sasha, the Crofts reconcile, Shinwell receives treatment for his own infection, and Ingrid leaves the clinic having lost the team's trust after she confessed to tainting the vectors. Watson feels Moriarty is too dangerous to be allowed to walk away, and so deliberately neglects to complete the cure and watches him die of a stroke. Two weeks later, Watson is now dating Laila, and remains shaken at the fact he has taken a life.
While admitted for accidental self poisoning, Mary's mother, Elizabeth (Juanita Jennings), starts suffering rapid memory loss. Her ailment, found to be caused by an undiagnosed cirrhosis, makes her develop a urinary tract infection. Watson is unwilling to allow Mary to donate her liver due to the high risks. Watson discovers that Elizabeth gave birth to a son named Miles, whom she gave to another family. Mary meets her older brother (Khary Payton), who is reluctant to donate his liver to the mother he doesn't know. However, he changes his mind after recognising her as a regular customer who had talked him out of quitting his business during a rough patch. After the successful operation, Miles introduces Mary and Elizabeth to his wife and kids. Meanwhile, Ingrid started group therapy at UHOP to deal with her antisocial personality disorder, and had an awkward reunion with the fellows. After coaxing from Shinwill to forgive Ingrid, the team recommends Watson rehire her. At Watson's apartment, he overhears an intruder, who is revealed to be Sherlock Holmes (Robert Carlyle).
While catching up with Holmes, Watson recounts the previous day's events. A microbiology team led by Amelia Woodward (Kerry O'Malley) arrive with flu-like symptoms, believed to be an ancient and potentially catastrophic pathogen contracted in the arctic. One of the team dies from cardiac arrest. An expedition journal reveals the "virus" is actually typhoid fever brought about by baking soda being placed in the group's shared meals. Expedition member Nate Hermannson (Max Montesi) simulated the virus to create publicity and raise awareness for the melting permafrost and its possible future pathogenic problems. Holmes confesses he did not go over the Reichenbach Falls with Moriarty, instead tricking another criminal named Stapleton to fight the professor in his place. Holmes took the plunge himself to save Watson after he leapt in. Watson rehires Ingrid, and Sasha meets her long-lost birth uncle Jun (Tzi Ma) in person for the first time. A disguised Holmes drops by the clinic, and when questioned on his motives for resurfacing, he refers to "the Pittsburgh mystery" and teases a "third act surprise".
Max Bowers (Ava Anton) is 30 years old, but looks to be only 10. She is admitted for a fractured arm, requiring swift surgery. At group therapy Ingrid vents about her conflicted feelings of returning to the clinic, and meets fellow patient Beck Whyte (Noah Mills) before heading back to work. During the operation, Mary discovers lymph nodes on Max's arm, and Laila is brought in to consult. An exhausted Max is aware of her prognosis, and simply wants to die. Ingrid and Sasha uncover evidence of fever, indicating Max doesn't have cancer, but she checks out before she can be given the news. A conclusion of lupus is reached, and Max is caught by cops having stolen a car. She starts having difficulty breathing, and is convinced by Watson to return to the hospital where she responds well to treatment. She is later introduced to a 41 year old woman with a similar condition, and overjoyed to find out she is no longer alone. Meanwhile, Sasha somewhat reconciles with Ingrid, who also diagnoses Stephens as having depression. On the way out, she is approached by Beck and rebuffs his suspicious attempts at socialising. Watson discovers an online newspaper called "the Mystery", seemingly referring to what Holmes mentioned previously.
In the aftermath of a tornado hitting the city, Shinwell, now a nurse in training, notices four patients turning up with similar oozing rashes on their bodies. He brings it to the team, who believe it to be a flesh eating bacteria. Instead, they are found to be fungal spores brought about by debris from the storm, but it is discovered too late to prevent one of the patients (Seyi Balogum) from getting his leg amputated. Another patient (Anja Savcic) starts worsening, with her condition discovered to be a sexually transmitted fungal infection amplified by flea bites. Meanwhile, Shinwell forms a rapport with his supervisor Nurse Carlin DaCosta (Margot Bingham) and struggles to adapt to the emotional toll of his new job. Adam is anxious about his impending marriage to Lauren, exacerbated by her announcing that she is pregnant.
Watson was announced in October 2022, to be created, written and produced by Craig Sweeny who had previously worked on Elementary.[1] The show was given a straight to series order, bypassing the pilot stage.[39]
On March 26, 2025, CBS renewed the series for a second season[54], which was originally set to premiere in January 2026, but was moved up to October 13, 2025 due to CIA being delayed.[55] Unlike the first season, no location shooting took place in Pittsburgh.[56] Filming for the second season began on June 24, 2025 and is scheduled to conclude on March 9, 2026.[57] Leonard-Morgan has revealed that the season will consist of 20 episodes.[17]
In Germany & Austria, the series is scheduled to air on Sky One from November 9, 2025.[63]
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 50% approval rating based on 18 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Transplanting Sherlock Holmes lore into a medical procedural, Watson's conceit proves an awkward fit but gets a boost from the ever-watchable Morris Chestnut."[64]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[65]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
