‘Watson’ Casts Clarke Peters as John’s Father — Morris Chestnut Previews Their Relationship

Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut) is getting a family visit in Watson Season 2.

TV Insider has learned exclusively that Clarke Peters will be guest starring as Watson’s father, Hamish. The Wire star will appear in Episode 7.

Hamish is a renowned saxophone player determined to restore Pittsburgh’s historic Jazz scene to its former glory. He arrives at UHOP to seek help for his protege, who is suffering from mysterious blackouts. (Who else would he go to with a medical mystery like that than the best doctective around?) When conflicts arise over the best course of action for the patient, Hamish and John are forced to confront long-simmering father-son tensions.

When we recently spoke with Rochelle Aytes, who plays Watson’s ex-wife, Mary Morstan, she teased her character has a significant conversation with her ex-father-in-law.

“That’s going to be a great episode. And there are some very interesting dynamics going on between [Watson and his father],” she raved. “And Mary is on the outskirts watching and just watching the battle between these two go back and forth because they’re like, ‘We have a good relationship,’ when they really don’t, but they think they do. And Mary’s always the one who’s like the referee. So I have some really good, hard, fun, touching conversations with his dad.”

Related

'Watson' First Look! Robert Carlyle's Sherlock Holmes Surprises Watson in Trailer

Watson’s relationship with his dad might not be the greatest, but the completely opposite is true of Mary’s with Hamish. “It’s good,” she confirms.

When we then brought what Aytes said to Chestnut about father and son, he protested as both laughed, “We have a great relationship.”

He continued, “It is a strange relationship. Watson has never really believed that he can measure up in his father’s eyes to be what his father wanted him to be, which was a musician. His father is a musician, and Watson’s father actually was mentoring and nurturing other people instead of giving them the attention that John Watson always wanted. And so it’s one of those things to where, I always say that with kids, it feels like with children, regardless of how they’re raised, they always feel like they’ve missed out on something. They always have something to be upset about. If they’re raised without a lot of opportunities, they get mad at that. If they’re raised with too many opportunities, they get mad at that. And so with Watson, there are some good things that did come from having his father in his life, but he’s still holding the edge on the one main thing that he felt that he didn’t get the attention and he could never really live up to his father’s expectations. So, he is still trying to prove himself.”

What are you hoping to see when Clarke Peters guest stars as Watson’s father? Let us know in the comments section below.

Watson, Season 2 Premiere, Monday, October 13, 10/9c, CBS