Is ‘Young Sherlock’ Connected to Guy Ritchie’s ‘Sherlock’? Matthew Parkhill & Hero Fiennes Tiffin Weigh In

Few fictional characters have left a cultural footprint as vast as Sherlock Holmes. Created by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887, the brilliant detective known for his powers of deduction first appeared in A Study in Scarlet and went on to anchor four novels and 56 short stories. Holmes helped define the modern detective archetype: hyper-observant, deductive to the point of arrogance, emotionally aloof yet morally driven. To a degree.

Over the years, dozens of actors have tried on the deerstalker hat to give it a fit, from the classic pics of William Gillette to Basil Rathbone to the more modern small-screen romps of Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. But arguably the most commercially successful modern big-screen version is Robert Downey Jr.‘s portrayal in Sherlock Holmes and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, both directed by Guy Ritchie.

Downey’s Holmes leaned into physicality, eccentricity, and rapid-fire deduction sequences, turning the detective into an action hero. The two films grossed over $1 billion worldwide combined, introducing the character to a new generation.

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So when it was announced that Mr. Ritchie would be exec producing, penning, and directing a new Young Sherlock series for Prime Video, some assumed it might serve as a possible prequel to Downey’s version of the Baker Street detective. Starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin as young Sherlock and Dónal Finn as James Moriarty, the series promises to take audiences on a globe-trotting adventure as the fledgling sleuth attempts to solve his first major case: a murder mystery in which he is the main suspect.

Instead of a prequel, audiences are treated to an origin story. This Sherlock outing is an entirely new interpretation, separate from the film franchise, though showrunner Matthew Parkhill does not seem to mind if fans come in with certain expectations.

“I think the expectations only help,” said Parkhill. “I know the show. I’ve seen it now with multiple audiences. It has that wonderful energy that the Sherlock movies had. It’s not those movies, and it’s not a prequel to those movies, but that sort of swagger, that sense of fun, that sense of sort of irreverence. It has that.”

“I think if people come to this from those movies, I think they’re going to enjoy this. So I think it only helps us with that sense of expectation. Having said that, I’m terrified,” laughed Parkhill.

Indeed, this Sherlock is a new kind of beast. He is young, inexperienced, and prone to mistakes. In the series, he finds an unexpected ally in James Moriarty, as the show flips their iconic rivalry on its head by portraying both men as teens, still evolving into their famous figures.

Rather than presenting them as destined enemies from the outset, the story explores how two brilliant outsiders, still unformed and uncertain of their paths, might first find connection before conflict.

Daniel Smith/Prime

“To take on a Sherlock Holmes project, it’s quite nerve-wracking, because there are so many great writers who have done it, and great actors. And so for me, I needed to give myself some space, some sort of creative freedom, right?” said Parkhill. “I was fascinated in why these two became such great enemies, why they became such great rivals. And then from there, one of the answers in my head was, well, sometimes you have these great friendships, and when you fall out with those great friendships, they become great enemies or great rivals.”

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Star Hero Fiennes Tiffin, who plays brilliant yet still learning Sherlock, couldn’t agree more. “I was completely unaware of how important it is to see them as friends. And I now, not only do I think it serves our show really well, but I think it actually even serves Conan Doyle’s work really well, because once you understand that they were previously friends,” explained the actor. “It enriches the rivalry so much, because it just feels so much more loaded.”

“When Sherlock is talking to Watson about Moriarty, the fact that he’s keeping from him that they were previously friends, you just feel, you feel the pain in Sherlock, and probably Moriarty too, but then also, yeah, Sherlock always has a counterpart in John Watson, so he needs a counterpart, and for it to be Moriarty, it’s just so insightful and entertaining to watch them,” said Fiennes Tiffin. “They are misfits and outcasts, and they’re both just so exceptionally intellectual, even in an environment like Oxford, it’s very believable that they would be friends and just so fun to watch them. They’re such a great team.”

Young Sherlock, Season 1, March 4, Prime Video