CBS' Elementary – Behind the scenes


Elementary, the CBS version of a 21st century Sherlock Holmes, is set in New York City and stars Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson. With CBS’ announcement yesterday that Elementary will be broadcast on Thursdays at 10p ET, the same slot as NBC’s short-lived remake of Prime Suspect last Fall, CBS’ Elementary will definitely start from behind the proverbial 8-ball as there has already been and will continue to be comparisons to the brilliant BBC/PBS version, Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrDVSxNycKc

While the evil side of me wants to come up with a Las Vegas-style over/under as to when CBS will pull the plug on their version of a modern day Sherlock, that’s probably not fair without at least giving it a chance. What’s going to make it difficult to like is that, looking at the trailer, the trademark Steven Moffat production techniques, which add greatly to the coolness factor of the BBC/PBS version, along with genius performances from both Cumberbatch and Freeman, are nowhere to be seen in the CBS series. Both Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu appear to be capable of really strong performances. Hopefully, the writing, another Steven Moffat advantage, will be up to the task.


In: Action/Drama,Actors/Actresses,Drama