As a 19-year-old at Oxford University, Sherlock Holmes is not yet the master detective he grows up to be. He is raw and unfiltered, and he lacks discipline. A murder at Oxford puts Holmes's freedom at risk, and he sets out to solve his first murder mystery that leads him to a global-level conspiracy.[1]
A childhood flashback shows young Sherlock Holmes failing to watch his sister Beatrice, who disappears. In the present, Sherlock is released from prison after a sentence for pickpocketing. His brother Mycroft secures him a position at Oxford's Candlin College as a scout (servant), not a student. There he meets Princess Shou'an of China, who has brought priceless fifth-century BC scrolls of Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and befriends student James Moriarty. When the scrolls are stolen, Sherlock is the prime suspect. The Princess allows him to investigate. He determines the break-in was staged from the inside and that the scrolls never left the building – a cabinet was moved through hidden medieval passageways and rigged with a bomb timed to explode during a gala next door. Sherlock evacuates the gala moments before the detonation. The scrolls are recovered, but Professor Thompson is found murdered and Sherlock is arrested on suspicion.
Sherlock is interrogated for Professor Thompson's murder but cannot remember the previous night. Princess Shou'an denies being with him, and Mycroft's appeal to Sir Bucephalus Hodge is rebuffed. Moriarty, stripped of his scholarship by Hodge, breaks Sherlock out of prison disguised in a laundry cart. In hiding, they deduce that Shou'an drugged Sherlock's drink and framed him. They recall a burnt photograph she tried to conceal and trace it to a local photographer, discovering it shows four professors – Thompson, Roberts, Enright, and Malik – all seated nearest the bomb at the gala. The bomb was intended to kill all four. Sherlock and Moriarty race to warn the surviving professors but find Enright already dead. Meanwhile, a secret meeting reveals Shou'an is working with unknown conspirators and has been ordered to eliminate the professors within a week. Two targets remain alive.
3
"The Case of the Unarmed Man"
Anders Engström
Melissa Bubnic
4March2026(2026-03-04)
Sherlock and Moriarty investigate Professor Enright’s rooms while Shou’an stalks her next target. They uncover Enright’s research into mineral extraction in the Gansu Corridor and connect it to Sir Bucephalus Hodge’s fortune and a secret project involving the four doomed professors. After decoding clues from Enright’s student, Sherlock and Moriarty trace the professor to a bell tower, but arrive too late: Shou’an murders him and escapes, revealing that Sherlock himself unwittingly helped her find him. A clue from one of Shou’an’s gloves leads Sherlock to suspect that the woman at Oxford is not the real princess at all, and Ezra Hornsby’s testimony confirms the real Shou’an was likely replaced during the earlier kidnapping. Flashbacks reveal Shou’an was manipulated into hunting the “four apostles” to avenge her slaughtered family, but she begins to realise she has been used by her co-conspirators. Sherlock, Moriarty, and Mycroft convince Hodge to help them set a trap using Professor Malik as bait. Shou’an infiltrates the house despite a police watch, but Sherlock confronts her before she can kill again. She is arrested after hinting at a threat closer to home, leaving Sherlock stroking it in victory.
Development of a television series adaptation of the Young Sherlock Holmes books written by Andy Lane was first reported in April 2024 with Hero Fiennes Tiffin starring as a young Sherlock Holmes and Guy Ritchie attached to the project as well.[3]Amazon Prime Video ordered eight-episodes of the series in May 2024 to be executive produced by Inspirational Entertainment and Motive Pictures. The series was written by showrunner Matthew Parkhill, who also executive produces. Ritchie directs and executive produces alongside Lane, Simon Kelton, Ivan Atkinson, Simon Maxwell, Harriet Creelman, Dhana Gilbert, Colin Wilson and Marc Resteghini.[4] Ritchie previously helmed two unrelated cinematic Holmes adaptations: Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011). The role of the nineteen-year-old Holmes is played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin, who had previously worked with Ritchie on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.[5]
Filming of the series began in the United Kingdom in July 2024.[11] Scenes were filmed in Bristol.[12] In 2024, filming took place in Spain (specifically Jerez, Cádiz and Seville),[13][14][15] and Cardiff, Wales.[16][17] Filming on the series wrapped in late February 2025.[citation needed]
Release
All eight episodes of Young Sherlock premiered on 4 March 2026 on Amazon Prime Video.[18] On 9 February 2026 there was a New York premiere screening.[19][20] The trailer for the series, which was released on 5 February 2026, set a new record for the most watched Amazon Prime Series trailer in its first seven days.[21] On 17 February 2026 there was a premiere of 2 episodes in Mexico City.[22][23] On 24 February there was premiere of the series in London[24][25].
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 84% based on 38 reviews.[26]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 66 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[27]
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