The overwhelming majority of Sherlock Holmes stories are the property of the public domain, which is the reason why Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic literary creation will remain one of the most heavily adapted characters across all forms of media. In the last fifteen years alone, in fact, we’ve seen countless movies and TV shows that have reinvented the legendary sleuth in a variety of genres.
On the small screen we’ve had two modern day takes on the material with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Johnny Lee Miller’s Elementary, two blockbusters with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role, Ian McKellen’s somber drama Mr. Holmes, Will Ferrell’s terrible comedy Holmes & Watson and most recently, Henry Cavill lending support in smash hit Enola Holmes.
Next out of the gate is Netflix series The Irregulars, which stars Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Sherlock and Royce Pierreson as Watson. However, the iconic duo will take a backseat to the Baker Street Irregulars, the street urchins tasked with gathering intelligence to help the great detective and his assistant solve their cases.
The synopsis promises an entirely new and potentially radical spin on the established mythology that could make The Irregulars stand out among the crowded pack of Sherlock Holmes adaptations, and you can check it out below:
“Set in Victorian London, The Irregulars follows a gang of troubled delinquent teens who are manipulated into solving crimes for the sinister Doctor Watson and his mysterious business partner. As the crimes take on a horrifying supernatural edge and a dark power emerges, it’ll be up to the Irregulars to come together to save London, each other, and potentially the entire world.”
Shooting was halted for months as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, but The Irregulars finally wrapped last week and the first eight episodes are expected to arrive on Netflix by the middle of next year. And though it’s still early days, this project certainly sounds like it could put a supernatural and horror-tinged coat of fresh paint on characters that audiences have become more than familiar with over the decades.
