Sherlock Holmes is one of the most beloved and adapted characters of the last 150 years or so, and Guy Ritchie’s two movies, 2009's Sherlock Holmes and 2011's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, were both massive hits at the box office. Now, Ritchie is returning to the super sleuth with a new streaming show, Young Sherlock, which you’ll be able to watch with a Prime subscription.
Young Sherlock Is Set To Premiere In 2026
The 2026 television schedule is filling up, and that includes Young Sherlock, which is set to premiere on March 4, 2026. For fans like me who prefer to binge-watch streaming shows when possible, the good news is that all eight episodes of the show are expected to drop at once. The show wrapped production in February 2025.
Who Is Starring In Young Sherlock?
There are a lot of familiar characters set to appear in the show (and one notable absence that I’ll address later), and the cast is a mix of new and upcoming stars, as well as established actors. Here’s who we know will be in the show.
Hero Fiennes Tiffin As Sherlock Holmes
We have to start at the top, of course, with the titular character. Hero Fiennes Tiffin is playing Sherlock Holmes at age 19. Fiennes Tiffin is probably best known for playing Hardin Scott in the After series of college romance movies, appearing in all five entries of the polarizing, but money-making series. He also co-starred in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare in 2024, also directed by Ritchie.
Fiennes Tiffin is also well known for portraying Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. And yes, if you are wondering about that name, he was playing the younger version of the character that his uncle, Ralph Fiennes, plays in the franchise, Lord Voldemort. Tiffin is very excited for the opportunity to play the legendary literary character, telling Entertainment Weekly:
I've been obsessed with the character and Guy's work. I feel like I'm peaking way too early because this is what dreams are made of for me.
No one can blame him, as he follows in the footsteps of other great actors who have played Holmes, including Robert Downey, Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller, Basil Rathbone, Ian McKellen and David Thewlis, among others.
Dónal Finn As James Moriarty
Irish actor Dónal Finn will be playing Holmes’ mortal enemy, James Moriarty. All the best Holmes stories, in my opinion, involve Moriarty as the villain. Whether it’s in the books, the BBC show Sherlock, where he was portrayed by Andrew Scott, or Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, where Jared Harris plays the character, he’s always the best match for Holmes.
This isn’t the first series for Prime that Finn has appeared in. He plays Mat Cauthon in The Wheel of Time series for the streamer. Some of his other credits include the excellent BBC show SAS: Rogue Heroes and the Netflix hit The Witcher.
Joseph Fiennes As Silas Holmes
Playing Sherlock’s father, Silas, in the series is the great Joseph Fiennes. Fiennes is also Hero Fiennes Tiffin's uncle, so the casting seems pretty perfect. He also really needs no introduction. Fiennes had his breakout year in 1998 when he starred in two movies set in the same era. First, he starred as the Earl of Leicester in Elizabeth, then he portrayed William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love.
Zine Tseng As Princess Gulun Shou'an
Chinese actress Zine Tseng, who broke out in a big way in the hit show 3 Body Problem (which you can watch with a Netflix subscription) is another member of the Young Sherlock cast. Her character, Gulun Shou'an, is described as a “Chinese Princess, Oxford University Scholar and skilled martial artist” in an article from Deadline reporting on the casting news. Shou'an is not a traditional character from the Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle, so your guess is as good as mine whether she’s a friend or a foe of Sherlock’s.
The rest of the cast is also a mix of the well-known and soon-to-be-well-known, including Natascha McElhone as Cordelia Holmes, Sherlock’s mother, and Colin Firth as a character named Sir Bucephalus Hodge. Here are all the supporting actors that we know of and who will be playing them:
- Natascha McElhone as Cordelia Holmes
- Colin Firth as Sir Bucephalus Hodge
- Max Irons as Mycroft Holmes
- Ravi Aujla as Kishmore Malik
- Holly Cattle as Edie
- Simon Delaney as Detective Fitget
- Adam James as Dr. Charles Maltby
- Rachel Shelley as Mrs. Anna Tilcott
One name you might be searching for and not seeing is the character Dr. Watson. Holmes’ trusty sidekick doesn’t seem to be a part of this origin story. Though he’s been a part of most Sherlock Holmes adaptations, he is conspicuously absent from the cast list. This isn’t a total surprise, because in the original stories and books, Holmes and Watson don’t meet until later in life. Still, it’s odd to see his name missing from any story about Sherlock Holmes.
Guy Ritchie Is Producing And Directing
Director Guy Ritchie, who is no stranger to the Victorian world of Sherlock Holmes, is serving as the executive producer of the show, and he directed two episodes of the show. That means we’re sure that his signature style will be present throughout the series. It will almost certainly be similar to his two movies starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law.
The show wrapped principal photography in February 2025 and was written by Matthew Parkhill, who is also the showrunner. It was filmed in the UK and Spain.
What Will Young Sherlock Be About
The name pretty gives up the ghost here, as the show will follow a college-age Sherlock Holmes as a student at Oxford, alongside his future nemesis Moriarty. From the logline, via Variety, we can glean a little more info:
The origin story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved detective in an explosive re-imagining of this iconic character’s early days. Sherlock Holmes is a disgraced young man – raw and unfiltered – when he finds himself wrapped up in a murder case that threatens his liberty.
We know that it’ll be about his first case, while still in college, but where it goes from there, we’ll all just have to tune in to find out!
This Isn’t The First Version Of A Young Sherlock Holmes
Back in 1985, Barry Levinson directed Young Sherlock Holmes, starring Nicholas Rowe as Sherlock Holmes. That movie, which isn’t talked about much these days, but is actually pretty good, went even further back in Holmes’ life when he was at boarding school as a teenager. The movie was written by Chris Columbus and produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment.
Young Sherlock Holmes was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, and it included the first ever completely CGI character in Hollywood history. Sadly, though, it seems to get lost in all of the other adaptations of the classic detective stories.
We’ll just have to see how well this latest modern adaptation gets remembered. I, for one, can’t wait!
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