CBS’ ‘Elementary’ brings a stateside Sherlock to London
CBS' 'Elementary' brings its New York Sherlock Holmes to London for season premiere
7/12/2013LONDON — Sherlock Holmes is back on home turf in the second-season premiere of Elementary — and so, a bit uncomfortably, is star Jonny Lee Miller.
“It’s a little bit surreal, to be honest with you,” said the British actor, who plays a New York-based Sherlock in CBS’ modern-day take on the great detective.
It was the U.S. setting that convinced him to do the show, which debuted last fall on the heels of both Robert Downey Jr.’s big-screen Holmes and the BBC’s acclaimed series Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
There were grumbles in the media about a Sherlock glut, and Miller says he felt some trepidation about taking on the iconic role.
“I turned it down because of that, initially,” said Miller, who has played a San Francisco lawyer in the ABC TV series Eli Stone and a Scottish heroin addict in 1990s movie classic Trainspotting.
“I wouldn’t have done it here” in London, he said.
A season in, Elementary is a hit for CBS, and here Miller is, filming the start of season two this week at London locations including Paddington Station and Trafalgar Square.
Visiting London was natural for the show, which broke the usual Holmesian mold by casting Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan — rather than John — Watson. Elementary’s Sherlock is a tattooed recovering drug addict working as a consulting detective to the New York Police Department. Watson is the “sober companion” hired by Sherlock’s wealthy father to stop him going off the rails.
The show also features other characters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original detective stories, often with a twist, including possible love interest Irene Adler and the detective’s nemesis, the mysterious Moriarty.
Once Elementary debuted last fall to mostly positive reviews and strong viewing figures, many of the doubters stopped comparing Elementary to other incarnations of the Holmes stories — and Miller did, too.
Season 2 of Elementary starts Sept. 26 on CBS.