New Sherlock Holmes TV Show Is Finally Solving A 123-Year-Old Mystery

Published Oct 27, 2026, 4:45 PM EDT Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. A new Sherlock Holmes TV show will be released in 2027, and thanks to it, a 123-year-old mystery from the books will be solved. The cases of Sherlock Holmes and his accompanying characters continue to be a source of inspiration for many TV shows, and with the rights to the characters allowing creative freedom, there have been a variety of Sherlock Holmes TV shows in recent years. Some of these now rank among the best detective TV shows of all time, and there are still more to come. After the wave of modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes led by the BBC’s Sherlock and CBS’ Elementary, recent adaptations have opted for a more classical, Victorian-era approach, more fitting with the source material. Prime Video currently has Young Sherlock, which is preparing its second season and explores Holmes’ younger years before he became a well-established detective, and over at Sky Television, the TV show The Death of Sherlock Holmes is aiming for a 2027 release. Created by Claudia Bluemhuber, André Küttel, and Pierre Monnard, The Death of Sherlock Holmes is mostly based on the stories “The Final Problem” and “The Adventure of the Empty House”, which cover Holmes’ supposed death and his return from the dead, respectively. Thanks to this, The Death of Sherlock Holmes is set to explore a part of the detective’s life that, while mentioned in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, isn’t seen often in adaptations. The Death of Sherlock Holmes Explores What Holmes Did During His Fake Death Image courtesy of Sky The Death of Sherlock Holmes stars Rafe Spall as Sherlock Holmes, and takes the audience back to 1891, in Switzerland. Just like in the books, Holmes has his final confrontation with Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, from which they both fall and are presumed dead. This is true for Moriarty but not for Holmes, who finds a way to survive (and exactly how might be different in the original story and the show). The Death of Sherlock Holmes, then, catches up with Holmes near the Swiss Alps, where, weak and with amnesia, he’s taken in by Alma Kohler (Deleila Piasko), a local villager. Luckily for both, Holmes’ deductive skills haven’t been affected, and so when Alma’s young son, Franz, is accused of killing the town doctor, Holmes takes on the case. However, what starts as a mystery in a small town ends up uncovering a conspiracy, while Holmes tries to find his lost memories. Thomas Kaschel and Christian Koerner play Dr. John Watson and Mycroft Holmes, respectively. The Death of Sherlock Holmes will be filling the gap between Holmes’ “death” at the Reichenbach Falls and his return to London, which the books describe as Holmes traveling the world on a mission to dismantle the remnants of Moriarty’s reign. While this will surely be addressed in the show at some point, it offers more substance by going into detail of what Holmes did during that time, the type of cases he took, and, eventually, what led him to continue his journey against Moriarty’s gang. The Death of Sherlock Holmes Will Add More To The Detective's Lore Image courtesy of Sky The Death of Sherlock Holmes is doing something that most TV adaptations of the Great Detective and his stories rarely do: add to the character’s lore. The show will not only add to “the Great Hiatus” by being more precise about what Holmes did while everyone else believed he was dead, but it will also introduce the new connections he made during that time and how they shaped him personally and professionally. There’s also how Holmes will regain his memory, which, although it isn’t a detail mentioned in the books, can reveal a lot about how the detective’s brain works and how it operates during such a challenging time. The Death of Sherlock Holmes, depending on how long it runs, can also explore Holmes’ decision to return to London, which might not entirely depend on the remnants of Moriarty’s web. The Death of Sherlock Holmes has the potential to be one of the best, richest, and most interesting TV adaptations of Sherlock Holmes in recent years, and it’s to be seen how well-received it is and how long it will run.