Watch out, Sherlocks young, old, and daughter, and watch out, our dear Watsons; Moriarty is coming. Fremantle Media announced its intent to create a series with Archery Pictures focused on Sherlock Holmes’ perennial enemy James Moriarty. The project seems to be in pretty early days, with no casting confirmed and a working title of Moriarty. (Hey, it was fine for Sherlock and Watson.) Andrew Scott is perhaps the most famous Moriarty in recent years, though he’s been quite in demand lately.
The synopsis for the project reads:
James Moriarty is a Professor of Criminal Psychology at Durham University but leads a secret double life as the mastermind behind every crime of sophistication in the North of England. When a rival criminal begins an assault on his underground empire, Moriarty will have only one choice: to join the police as a consultant, using the law as a weapon to dismantle his foe while keeping his true identity hidden from the police. Paired with Detective Imogen Burrows, a stoic Yorkshire detective, they’ll form a fearsome team, but Moriarty will soon realise that the real threat isn’t the rival criminal faction he’s dismantling, but Imogen’s increasingly perceptive suspicions…
There’s been no shortage of TV focused on Sherlock Holmes and other characters in his world in recent years. Earlier this year brought Young Sherlock, which followed the sleuth at university and which will have a second season. Last year brought Sherlock And Daughter to the CW, which is also expected to get a second season. CBS also started airing Watson, which followed Morris Chestnut operating a medical practice in Pittsburgh after the death of his longtime friend and boss. While a version of that premise was a slam-dunk for HBO Max, CBS cancelled Watson earlier this year. All of those shows had Moriartys of their own, but it seems the time has come for his starring turn.
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