‘Watson’ Boss & Morris Chestnut on That Big Question: Is Sherlock Holmes Alive?

In the Watson Season 1 finale, John (Morris Chestnut) may have closed up his Sherlock Holmes box — with Moriarty’s (Randall Park) Always and Everywhere shirt inside — but the series has yet to show us proof that his friend, the sleuth, is really dead. After all, he fell just like Moriarty did at Reichenbach Falls in the series premiere, and the villain was alive until the finale. And so when TV Insider spoke with Chestnut and executive producer Craig Sweeny about the Season 1 finale, we had to ask about Sherlock Holmes.

“I can say that I couldn’t imagine doing a show set in this universe and never seeing Sherlock Holmes, but I wouldn’t answer it in any more specific way than that,” was all Sweeny would say. “What’s the fun in that? Don’t you want to watch and see what happens?”

Morris Chestnut shared his take that he hadn’t discussed with the exec producer: “I believe that Sherlock is still alive. I think so. He’s so brilliant at everything that he’s done, and he has such an effect on Watson to have to, as a character, deal with his loss — Of course, it was great motivation to also handle Moriarty the way he did. But I would like to think that Sherlock is still somewhere there. And there was a scene earlier where Watson felt that he saw Sherlock. And so having that feeling, it would be great for him to still be around. I think Craig may have a different feeling, but Morris feels it would be great to have Sherlock.”

Should Sherlock Holmes still be alive, we’d imagine him showing up at the worst possible time, just as Watson has really moved on, and Chestnut agreed. “Exactly. I finally have closure. Everyone will be at the wedding with Laila [Watson’s new love interest, played by Tika Sumpter] and then, if anybody objects to this marriage between John Watson and Laila, I can see him in the back,” he said.

Sherlock Holmes did appear when Watson hallucinated his friend (voiced by Matt Berry) in the first season. That could always happen again, or there’s always the potential for flashbacks.

“We are still in the planning stages for Season 2. I’m not comfortable going into what the exact machinations are and who we’re casting, but there’s a new and surprising take on how to bring the universe of Sherlock Holmes into a doctor show set in the States,” Sweeny teased.

Should Sherlock appear onscreen again, it’s still to be determined if it would be Berry in the role. “We were blessed to have him do that as the voice, as the hallucinatory voice of Holmes,” the EP told us. “I don’t think we’re creatively committed to it, but I can say that I am a huge fan of Matt Berry’s, and I think he’s an amazing choice as a Sherlock Holmes. But I’m only speaking as a fan there.”

Watson, Season 2, 2026, CBS