Watson returned in the fall 2025 TV schedule with a brand new batch of medical mysteries for John and his time to tackle, but has also delved deeper into Sherlock Holmes lore with the introduction of the detective himself, played by Robert Carlyle. In the new episode that will air on CBS on November 17 (and stream next day with a Paramount+ subscription), medical mystery will clash with a member of the Holmes family, with a new exclusive clip (seen above) showing how far John will go for his patient. It also illustrates how Morris Chestnut described Watson to CinemaBlend this fall.
In the exclusive clip for the new episode, called "Buying Time," Watson, Ingrid, and Sasha are working on the case of Xavier, a young man whose health starts off bad and then immediately gets much worse. Mary unfortunately has some bad news for her reliable ex-husband: Mycroft Holmes is interfering with the funding for the clinic after dropping by in the previous episode that also featured Sherlock's return. John puts himself (and his wallet) on the line, declaring that he'll pay for Xavier's treatment himself if necessary. Per CBS' episode description, that'll just be the beginning of the drama:
Watson and the fellows race against time to save the life of Xavier, a 21-year-old athlete with a fast-growing, seemingly incurable cancer. Meanwhile, Mycroft Holmes lets Watson know his team’s work at UHOP may no longer have funding available.
Normally, it might feel like a sure thing that the problem with funding would be handily wrapped up by the time the final credits roll on the episode, but Watson doesn't seem to be treating the Mycroft problem as procedural. He turned up at the end of the previous episode to drop the news on John that the Holmes Clinic functions under his "auspices" in the wake of Sherlock's death; since Sherlock's survival is currently a secret and John is unlikely to break his word to his old friend, he's in a sticky situation if the budget isn't resolved.
So, I for one am not counting on John figuring out a permanent solution to the Mycroft problem beyond any budget concerns within the span of just one episode, or even before the beginning of the 2026 TV schedule after Watson's fall finale. But it's also not sustainable for him to keep offering to pay for patients. Time is of the essence for his team to not only find a way to treat Xavier, but for John to solve the mystery of what's causing his symptoms as well as what Mycroft's motives are.
That clash of medicine with mystery reminded me of what Morris Chestnut told me in an interview ahead of Season 2 this fall, when he shared his thoughts on whether he liked the show's balance of the two genres:
I truly do. It's almost as if we get to do two shows in one. The medical is always going to be there, but I really do get a lot of fun out of playing the detective aspect of it as well. It just makes it more interesting as an actor. I love coming to the medical set, but then I do love figuring things out, going into the bar. Like you saw in [the Season 2 premiere], going into the cafe and having this conversation with Mary while knowing this is her brother. All those things. I just love it.
As Chestnut noted at the time, John started Season 2 by not only solving the mystery that led to the medical diagnosis that saved Mary's mother's life, but he also delivered a pretty dramatic reveal for his ex. While the case in "Buying Time" certainly seems less personal for John even with Mycroft in the mix, all signs point towards the doctor needing to channel his detective side ASAP. The star went on to describe how the show combines genres:
Watson is a modern day take on the Sherlock Holmes mythology. It's a medical drama that has a strong investigative spine that tries to solve the rarest in medical mysteries. But it's somewhat of a hybrid. You don't just get a medical drama. You also get a detective drama, and in solving these mysteries of the most rare types of cases.
Tune in to CBS on Monday, November 17 at 10 p.m. ET for the "Buying Time" episode of Watson, following the latest episode of FBI due to the big time slot change. Morris Chestnut predicted that it would go "very well" for Watson and FBI to be paired on Monday nights, which was a switch for both dramas this fall. You can catch up on any episodes you might have missed streaming on Paramount+.
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