Watson is only just starting out Season 2 in the fall 2025 TV schedule, but the doctor-detective drama already delving even further into Sherlock Holmes lore with the man himself debuting in the premiere. It's a safe bet that John will be much happier to see Sherlock's return from the dead than he was the now-deceased Moriarty in Season 1. That doesn't mean a straightforward reunion for the old friends, however. Ahead of his first full episode on October 20, Robert Carlyle spoke with CinemaBlend about taking on the mantle of the legendary detective and his reunion with Morris Chestnut's John Watson.
Carlyle technically made his Watson debut in the Season 2 premiere, available streaming now with a Paramount+ subscription, but his first full episode airs on October 20 to shed light on where Sherlock has been all this time. Appropriately called "Back From the Dead," it features Watson catching up with his old friend while he and his team work on a "zombie virus" that could wreak some serious havoc.
Aside from "zombie virus" sounding like the perfect case for one of the last Watson episodes before Halloween, this episode that will show fans what John and Sherlock's relationship is actually like after only hearing stories (and getting some auditory hallucinations) in Season 1. Acknowledging that it's "very strange," Robert Carlyle previewed what kind of a reunion it will be for the friends after Sherlock took John by surprise:
I think it's very, very odd. It's the way that the episode works, of course, but he doesn't tell him right away. He doesn't say, 'Look, I'm sorry. This is what happened. This is why.' It takes the entire episode for the audience to understand what actually happened at Reichenbach Falls a year ago. So the fact that he keeps that back is obviously, I think, probably suspicious.
Watson fans, don't expect Sherlock to start "Back From the Dead" by giving a straightforward rundown of everything that's happened since he seemingly went over Reichenbach Falls to his death! That doesn't mean he'll get the kind of welcome (or lack thereof) that Moriarty did when he showed his true colors last season, but the Once Upon a Time vet shared that there will be some uncertainty between the friends:
Watson, quite rightly, is wary about this figure turning up into his life again, and then it throws up all sorts of questions. Who is he? What is he? Is it real? Is it not? I mean, as far as far as I'm concerned, as far as Watson's concerned, he is real. But as the show progresses, that becomes almost like a kind of Sherlock Holmes mystery and is the reality of this relationship.
It remains to be seen if other characters will also encounter Sherlock in the foreseeable future; I for one am hoping to see Robert Carlyle and Rochelle Aytes sharing the screen, just to see if Mary holds any grudges against Sherlock for Watson leaving Pittsburgh for as long as he did. The early focus very much seems to be on Watson, and perhaps that will be the case in episodes that are coming up.
After all, the manner of Sherlock's first appearance indicates plenty of comfort between the pals, with the detective apparently confident enough in John's reaction that he just turned up in his apartment to dig around in the refrigerator. Robert Carlyle shared his take on that scene as Sherlock's means of reappearing for the first time since his apparent death:
It's interesting, because I think that that shows how close they actually are. I think that's the thing that we have to put out there this season is try and show without showing that they have a great relationship, that they've been great friends for a long, long, long time, and of course, him in his fridge raiding for a bit of horseradish and a roast beef sandwich. [laughs] I mean, that's exactly what you do with your flatmate when you're at university or something like that. So I think that's a nice kind of little kind of way to introduce those two.
In fact, it's kind of a sweet nod to the original Sherlock Holmes stories as well, in which Sherlock and John were flatmates in London. But how trustworthy is Sherlock for John now, after a year of radio silence from the detective and mourning by the doctor? Robert Carlyle answered that very question, saying:
That's a good question. Watson's wary. He's wary of this guy. I don't think he's wary of the flesh and blood of Sherlock, but he's wary of, 'What are you doing? What have you done? Why are you here? Why are you back?' Watson just asks loads of questions. [laughs] He asks loads of questions into which Sherlock kind of deflects most of these questions, and with most of these questions, more questions then arise. So it's a mystery within a mystery.
Considering that Robert Carlyle's casting as Watson's Sherlock Holmes was announced nearly three months ago, I think it's safe to say that fans have been waiting a long time to see just how John and Sherlock bounce off of each other in this telling of their tale! Check out a promo for their first full episode together:
Tune in to CBS on Monday, October 20 at 10 p.m. ET for the "Back From the Dead" episode of Watson and see exactly what Robert Carlyle brings to the role. You can also check out his first appearance that shocked John with the premiere streaming on Paramount+.
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