It may seem like the latest round of entertainment awards wrapped up fairly recently, with the Critics Choice Awards occurring in March after the Emmys, Golden Globes, and TCAs had already taken place. That said, the next round of Emmy buzz is already starting in the 2026 TV schedule, and one of the most action-packed new releases available with a Prime Video subscription will compete on the awards circuit in a category that may surprise some of the millions who watched the trailer: Young Sherlock is not being promoted as Drama.
If that does surprise you, some comments from two stars about the humor might explain it. First things first!
Young Sherlock Is Competing As A Comedy
The Comedy category on the awards circuit has been up for debate ever since The Bear started scooping up wins despite being pretty universally considered a dramedy. Now, Deadline reports that Prime Video is going to support Young Sherlock as a Comedy. The show came with a big name behind it, with Guy Ritchie himself executive producing, directing, and developing alongside creator/showrunner Matthew Parkhill.
Article continues belowOften, shows that aren’t specifically marketed as comedies and don’t fit the half-hour model of most sitcoms are expected to be considered dramas. That was initially the case for CBS’ Elsbeth, and star Carrie Preston told me that it took “hard work” from the network to switch from being considered a drama to an hour-long comedy.
That evidently won’t be an issue for Prime Video presenting Young Sherlock as a comedy from the jump on the Emmy awards circuit. Even though it might seem like a better fit for a Dramedy category with its combination of action, humor, and drama, no such Emmy category yet exists. So, comedy it is!
And in speaking about what Guy Ritchie brought to the project, stars Max Irons and Zine Tsing addressed the humor of the series as one of its many standout elements.
What Max Irons And Zine Tseng Said About Guy Ritchie
Max Irons and Zine Tseng played Mycroft Holmes and Princess Gulun Shou’an, respectively, in the first season, opposite Hero Fiennes Tiffin as Sherlock himself and Dónal Finn as James Moriarty. With a cast also filled out with stars like Colin Firth, Joseph Fiennes, and Natascha McElhone, the show had some star power behind it, but having Guy Ritchie on board really built the buzz before its premiere early this year.
Guy Ritchie is best known for his film work, including directing both Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) with Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Jared Harris. So, how much of an asset was it to the Young Sherlock team to have Ritchie involved as a producer, director, and developer behind the scenes? I asked Max Irons and Zine Tseng that very question, and Irons wasted no time in bringing up the humor:
He's a real master of maintaining without compromising, the logical progression that Sherlock Holmes is, the discovery. That's the joy. That's why there are millions and millions of people all around the world reading in hundreds of languages these stories. [It's] because they want to be credited with the intelligence. They want to be in the room with Sherlock, with Moriarty, figuring things out as they go. And Matthew Parkhill, our writer, and Guy Ritchie managed to balance that perfectly with dynamism, kineticism, action, romance, speed, humor, style, panache, the works. And does it all at pace.
As Irons pointed out, Guy Ritchie joining forces with showrunner Matthew Parkhill (who also wrote four of the eight episodes of Season 1) resulted in a show that didn’t just fit one category, but the humor means that it does deliver a share of comedy. Zine Tsing agreed with her costar about what Ritchie brought to the series, saying:
He just poured all of the knowledge, like pulling the strings of the puppet, and then just put it into the sentence and made all of us sound extremely intelligent. If you pay attention to it, you also hear the rhyming of the dialogues, because Guy is very specific about words.
While the prospect of Prime Video potentially giving Young Sherlock a push on the awards circuit as a Comedy is sure to be exciting for fans, the wait is still on for news of whether or not the show will be back for a second season. The streamer did recently make the pilot available for free, showing off the chemistry between Sherlock and Moriarty to well over 1.5 million viewers.
For now, you can always find the eight episodes of Young Sherlock Season 1 streaming on Prime Video. At the time of writing, the show is listed at #7 in the U.S., which is something for the cast and EPs to be proud of considering that the full first season debuted all the way back in early March.
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