Young Sherlock, or the Adventures of a Budding Detective

In 1871, Sherlock Holmes is only nineteen years old but is already considered the black sheep of the family: brilliant, determined, and at the same time unable to submit to rules. Marked in childhood by the tragic death of his sister, he lives in a deeply wounded family: his mother never recovered from the trauma, his father abandoned them, while his older brother Mycroft continues to pull him out of trouble thanks to his influential connections.

At the beginning of the first season of Young Sherlock, young Holmes even finds himself in prison. His obsession with reading Oliver Twist had, in fact, pushed him, out of pure intellectual curiosity, to personally experiment with the art of pickpocketing. After having him freed, Mycroft decides to send him to Oxford, but not as a privileged student: Sherlock will have to work as a simple servant, taking care of cleaning and surveillance, tasks far from satisfying his extraordinary mind. It is there, however, that his destiny intertwines with that of an equally brilliant and adventurous young man, James Moriarty, and with a mysterious Chinese princess who hides a secret destined to change everything.

Young Sherlock: The Origins of the Myth?

Through eight fast-paced episodes, the series builds a story rich in mysteries, irony, and plot twists. The narrative unfolds like a constantly moving puzzle, amidst family tragedies, revenge, and unexpected revelations, outlining the origins of literature's most famous detective. It all clearly bears the stylistic signature of Guy Ritchie, who, after the films with Robert Downey Jr., returns to confront the universe of Sherlock Holmes to tell a dynamic and spectacular origin story, albeit from behind the scenes on this occasion. The protagonist is played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin, a nephew of art who lends his face to a young and impulsive Holmes, even if in reality he is almost ten years older than the character's stated age.

The series is not directly based on the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, but on the young-adult novels by Andrew Lane, which already reinterpreted the detective for a contemporary audience. The result is therefore very distant from the classic approach of Young Sherlock Holmes (1985): here, a pulp, ironic, and lighthearted tone dominates, where martial arts, conspiracies, and continuous revelations designed to surprise the modern viewer find their place.

In Young Sherlock, chases and fights abound, supported by frantic editing often accompanied by indie rock music. The narrative deliberately plays with anachronisms and creative visual solutions, especially when Sherlock's fervent imagination "enters the scene" to hypothesize the solution to various enigmas. The result is a series with a devouring pace that focuses primarily on entertainment, leaving doors wide open for a probable second season.

Elementary...Moriarty!

One of the strengths remains the management of dialogues and relationships between the characters. Particularly interesting is the bond between Sherlock and James Moriarty, here presented as an inseparable companion before becoming his future nemesis. Dónal Finn offers one of the most convincing performances in the cast, transforming the future enemy into a kind of alternative sidekick to the classic Watson, whose appearance is probably postponed to subsequent seasons.

The cast also includes high-caliber actors such as Joseph Fiennes, Natasha McElhone, and Colin Firth, although the latter is unfortunately underutilized. Taiwanese actress Zine Tseng, previously seen in the sci-fi series The Three-Body Problem, stands out in the action scenes thanks to her martial arts skills, but struggles to establish herself as an authentic femme fatale within a screenplay that, while entertaining, shows some narrative weaknesses.

Those who appreciated Guy Ritchie's cinematic adaptations will find the same dynamic and over-the-top atmospheres in Young Sherlock, and will hardly be disappointed, even without the charisma of the Robert Downey Jr. – Jude Law duo driving the story. Those who have always preferred the classic version of Holmes, however, would do better to look elsewhere.