Critics blast “unhinged” Sherlock Holmes spin-off ‘Watson’

nme.com:

Watson, a medical drama that sees Holmes’ assistant strike out on his own after the famous detective dies.Morris Chestnut (Boyz N The Hood) stars as John Watson, who opens a medical practice in Pittsburgh after Holmes is killed at the hands of his archnemesis, Moriarty, after they both fall to their death.

Treating patients with strange and unidentifiable issues, he soon comes face-to-face with the past when he suspects Moriarty may still be alive.The CBS show premiered in the US on Monday (January 26) and the pilot was met with reservations from critics.

USA Today’s Kelly Lawler called it “Unhinged TV” and “utterly nonsensical and ridiculous” in the review.Lawler explained: “The two parts of Watson don’t fit together.

The medical procedural is fine, bland and perfectly standard CBS. But then a patient-of-the-week drama gets crashed together with this half-hearted Sherlock mythology and the wheels fall right off”.Variety’s Aramide Tinubu agreed in a review, saying: “The glaring issue with Watson is it’s being forced under the Sherlock Holmes tentpole” before adding the show “could’ve easily worked as a cut-and-dry medical mystery drama instead of trying to force a square peg in a round hole”.The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han described the show as lacking identity. “Despite a promisingly goofy premise and the occasional gob-smacking narrative choice, the early instalments speak more to a series struggling to pick a lane than one that’s confident blazing a path of its own,” Han said.Fans agreed online, with one fan posting on X (formerly Twitter): “So far the pilot for Watson is ehh.