'Elementary' CBS Premiere Date, Sept. 27: Jonny Lee Miller, Lucy Liu Star In New Sherlock Holmes Adaptation [DETAILS]
The Sherlock Holmes franchise has been rebooted endlessly, but the detective tale gets a slightly different twist in "Elementary," the new series from CBS.
The drama about Holmes and his constant companion Watson will premiere Thursday, Sept. 27, at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
This most recent interpretation of the famous detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle incorporates some unique casting - Jonny Lee Miller stars as Holmes and Watson will be played by a woman, Lucy Liu.
A review of "Elementary" from USA Today lauds the casting decisions as one of the highlights that will make the new series shine.
"Among the many good moves creator Robert Doherty has made, the smartest may have been casting Eli Stone's charmer Jonny Lee Miller (allowed here to use his real British accent) as Sherlock -- and then pairing him with a female Dr. Watson played by the equally fabulous Lucy Liu," the USA Today review read. "Making Watson a beautiful woman adds an unexpected frisson to their relationship; making her a strong, smart woman shifts it even further toward a more equal partnership."
"Elementary" stays close to the source material by including the addiction and substance abuse issues Holmes grappled with in Doyle's original novels, Miller said.
"I find that quite enjoyable, trying to see the downsides of someone. [Holmes] really struggles with his genius and the darker sides of his personality, and that's what attracted me [to the role]," Miller said. "I quite like our take in magnifying the addiction aspects. [Holmes] speaks both languages, the language of the underworld and the language of the lawmen. People can relate to that."
Miller also talked about the characteristics he shares with Sherlock in addition to being British.
"[Holmes] is extremely observant. That's one thing we share," Miller said. "I've always been, since I was a little kid, and my son is quite observant, too. Attention to detail -Sherlock certainly has that, and my memory is pretty good - but not as good as his."
