Young Sherlock Series Ordered by Amazon; Hero Fiennes Tiffin Set to Star

Prime Video has officially ordered a Young Sherlock series with Hero Fiennes Tiffin tapped to play the lead role, and Guy Ritchie set to direct. The eight-episode series will be based on the collection of novels by Andrew Lane which began releasing in 2010, and currently features eight books in all. This will be the second collaboration between Tiffin and Ritchie following 2024’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

As per Deadline, Matthew Parkhill (Deep State, Rogue) will serve as executive producer alongside Ritchie on Young Sherlock, and also act as showrunner. The director says that this version of Sherlock Holmes is going to be an incarnation that people have “never imagined before.” Check out his comments below.

“In
Young Sherlock
we’re going to see an exhilarating new version of the detective everyone thinks they know
in a way they’ve never imagined before
. We’re going to crack open this enigmatic character, find out what makes him tick, and learn how he becomes the genius we all love.”

While the character of Sherlock Holmes starts off as a 14-year-old in Lane’s novels, the series will bump his age up to 19, and present an “irreverent, action-packed origin story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved detective.” Tiffin, who is 26, follows in the footsteps of the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr., and Henry Cavill, who have all previously played the part. Check out the official synopsis for Young Sherlock below.

“At age 19, Sherlock Holmes is disgraced, raw, unfiltered, and unformed, when he finds himself caught up in a murder mystery at Oxford University which threatens his freedom. Diving into his first-ever case with a wild lack of discipline, Sherlock manages to unravel a globe-trotting conspiracy that will change his life forever.”

Young Sherlock Promises to Be a ‘New Chapter’ in an Iconic Legacy

Though there have been a number of incarnations of Sherlock Holmes over the years in radio dramas, stage plays, and TV shows, perhaps the most well known youthful version is Nicholas Rowe, who played the part in the 1985 filmYoung Sherlock Holmes. The movie was an original story directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man), and written by Chris Columbus of Home Alone and Harry Potter fame. It managed to take in an impressive $63 million dollars at the box office against a budget of $18 million.

Vernon Sanders, head of television for Amazon MGM Studios, promises that Young Sherlock will be a “new chapter” in the storied legacy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s popular detective. He says the show will explore “untold mysteries,” meaning that there’s a good chance it will shy away from often told stories such as ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles,’ and ‘A Study in Scarlet.’

“This exciting,
new chapter about one of the world’s best-known literary characters
will delight our global customers with its captivating storytelling. With the brilliant creative team, led by Guy Ritchie and Matthew Parkhill, we will explore untold mysteries of how young Sherlock found his way to a life of truth-seeking.”

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There’s no word yet on if John Watson will make an appearance in the series, and a release date for Young Sherlock has yet to be set. Hero Fiennes Tiffin will appear next in the survival thriller, Above the Below, starring and directed by Idris Elba, which is currently in post-production.