Young Sherlock TV Review: Guy Ritchie directs Hero Fiennes Tiffin in a reinvention of the classic character

Plot: When a charismatic, youthfully defiant Sherlock Holmes meets none other than James Moriarty, he finds himself dragged into a murder investigation that threatens his liberty. Sherlock’s first ever case unravels a globe-trotting conspiracy, leading to an explosive showdown that alters the course of his life forever. Unfolding in a vibrant Victorian England and adventuring abroad, the series will expose the early antics of the anarchic adolescent who is yet to evolve into Baker Street’s most renowned resident.

Review: When it was first announced that Guy Ritchie would be executive producing and directing a series called Young Sherlock, I was prepared to explore the early days of the version of Holmes played by Robert Downey Jr in the pair of hit feature films. Based on a series of young adult novels by Andrew Lane, Young Sherlock is a new interpretation of the title character in his early twenties, before his successful career and partnership with Dr. John Watson. Boasting familiar characters like Lestrade, Mycroft Holmes, and James Moriarty, Young Sherlock is a fun and original take on Sherlock when he was a troublemaker and instigator before he had a full grasp on his skills as a private investigator. Featuring a charismatic Hero Fiennes Tiffin in the lead, Young Sherlock is one of the most fun takes on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary creation in a long time.

In the original Sherlock Holmes stories, the detective’s age is never specified, but the character states that he began his career during his undergraduate days. Young Sherlock centers on the nineteen-year-old Holmes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) after a stint of petty crime forces his elder brother, Mycroft (Max Irons), to bail him out and send him to Oxford to work his way back into good standing. It is there that Holmes meets brilliant student James Moriarty (Donal Finn) and the pair instantly hit it off. They also meet visiting Chinese dignitary Princess Gulun Shou-an (Zine Tseng), a guest of Sir Bucephalus Hodge (Colin Firth), who is opening a new science building on campus. When a treasured artifact is stolen, and a murder occurs, Holmes is a suspect and teams up with Moriarty to clear his name, uncovering a complex mystery that connects to Sherlock’s past. Each of the eight episodes in this first season connects to a larger story, but the individual chapters keep you guessing as to what wrinkle could be uncovered at every turn, resulting in a fascinating and fun season.

By taking the story back to before we meet Sherlock Holmes, Hero Fiennes Tiffin is able to play with the character’s underdeveloped skills before he has honed himself into a master detective. Tiffin draws on trademark elements of other Holmes performances, such as the Mind Palace made famous by Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal in Sherlock and the impulsivity of Jonny Lee Miller’s version in Elementary. The younger Sherlock does not have the fighting skills we saw in Robert Downey Jr.’s big-screen interpretation, but Tiffin pulls it all together into a fresh performance. Where the classic stories hinge on the dynamic between Holmes and Watson, Young Sherlock presents an all-new pairing of Holmes and Moriarty before an event turned them into mortal enemies. The Wheel of Time’s Donal Finn delivers the best Moriarty since Andrew Scott’s brilliant performance by making the future professor Holmes’ equal. Tiffin and Finn spar beautifully as friends and partners, with several key sequences showcasing their one-upmanship and teasing trademark elements that connect Young Sherlock to the canon of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Of the legacy Holmes characters we meet, Max Irons’ Mycroft and a young constable named Lestrade, but the expansion of the Holmes family to include his mother, Cordelia (Natacha McElhone), and father Silas (Joseph Fiennes, Tiffin’s uncle), as well as a sister named Beatrice, gives new insight into the developmental side of Sherlock. Seeing the Holmes clan interact is a highlight of the series, but the ensemble cast is substantial and includes other famous faces. Colin Firth has fun as the pompous Bucephalus Hodge, while Zine Tseng (3 Body Problem) is phenomenal as a foil for Sherlock, both romantically and intellectually. Both Joseph Fiennes and Colin Firth appear in less than half of the season, but their presence is important to the plot. Both the elder and younger Fiennes get to share some pretty intense scenes together, but it never feels like stunt casting. Tiffin and Finn anchor the series, and a great cast brings something dynamic that keeps it from deviating from the core mystery.

While Guy Ritchie has become synonymous with his kinetic and heavily stylized approach to directing, Young Sherlock shares virtually no visual similarities with his Sherlock Holmes films. Of the eight episodes, Ritchie directed the first two, with Anders Engstrom helming the next three, and Dennie Gordon and Tricia Brock directing the remaining chapters. Ritchie has matured as a filmmaker and, in his reunion with Hero Fiennes Tiffin, having previously directed him in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, still has a pulse that keeps it from feeling like a stale period drama. There are moments in his episodes that use some of his trademark techniques, like stuttered editing, slow motion, and anachronistic music, but it is much more subtle than even in his previous small-screen project, Netflix’s The Gentlemen. Showrunner Matthew Parkhill drew inspiration from Andrew Lane’s Young Sherlock Holmes novels, but forges a wholly original glimpse into a period in Sherlock Holmes’ life we know virtually nothing about. It also blends the strongest characteristics of the Sherlock Holmes character and brings us how he grows into the legend.

In some ways, Young Sherlock feels like the Holmesian equivalent of the Star Wars prequels, showcasing a hero and a villain we previously only knew as one another’s nemesis. Taking things back to the origin of both Sherlock and Moriarty and centering on a relationship that rivals that of Holmes and Watson was a bold choice that works very well. I had a blast with this series that shifts from a kinetic Guy Ritchie project into a love letter and homage to the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, while keeping the period feel of Victorian England at its core, and modernizing the pulse with a modern flair. With a solid decade of space between where we find the character in this first season and when he finally comes into his own, the game is afoot for Young Sherlock to give us lots of mysterious adventures for seasons to come.

Young Sherlock premieres on March 4th on Prime Video.