The Return of Sherlock Holmes poster

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

★ 8.7 15K votes 1986–1988 2 seasons · 11 episodes Ended ITV1
Detective mysteryCrime-solving from the investigator's side of the table.This show: 10/10Genius leadExceptional intellect as the protagonist's engine.This show: 9/10British TVThe British television sensibility: tone, restraint and format traditions.This show: 9/10Period pieceSet meaningfully in a past era.This show: 9/10EpisodicSelf-contained episodes you can watch in almost any order.This show: 8/10Central duoOne pair's chemistry carries everything.This show: 7/10ProceduralA case or problem of the week, solved by a formula that works.This show: 7/10AtmosphericMood and place thick enough to touch.This show: 7/10
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Starring
Jeremy BrettEdward HardwickeRosalie WilliamsColin JeavonsDenis LillEric Sykes
Written by
John Hawkesworth
Starring
Jeremy BrettEdward HardwickeRosalie WilliamsColin JeavonsDenis LillEric Sykes
Written by
John Hawkesworth
Ratings per Episode
246810
Votes per Episode
03757501k2k

The Return of Sherlock Holmes Episode Ratings Heatmap

AvgE1E2E3E4E5E6E7
S18.08.17.98.18.37.97.97.9
S27.88.17.87.38.0

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About

"The definitive screen Holmes, deduction as theater"

This British series continues the acclaimed Granada adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories, picking up after Holmes's famous return from apparent death. Each episode is a self-contained mystery, faithfully adapted from the original tales, with Holmes and Watson investigating puzzling crimes across Victorian London and the English countryside. The pace is measured and talky rather than action-driven, built on atmosphere, period detail, and sharp deductive reasoning. What carries it is Jeremy Brett's magnetic, twitchy, theatrical performance as Holmes, widely regarded as definitive, alongside handsome production values and genuine respect for the source material.

Watch it for

Jeremy Brett's twitchy, magnetic performance as Holmes, considered by many the definitive portrayal.

Maybe skip if

you want fast-paced modern mystery pacing rather than measured Victorian-era storytelling.

Written by our AI editor to help you decide, spoiler-free by design.

All Seasons

Miniseries1986
8.08K76h 2m
In the second series of the widely celebrated ITV detective programme, Dr John Watson finds a mystery in an empty house, while Holmes and he later solve the mysteries of an abbey grange, the Musgrave ritual, a second stain, a man with a twisted lip, the priory school, and a half-dozen plaster busts of Bonaparte.
Season 2
7.84K43h 27m

Full Cast & Crew

Cast

Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes
Edward Hardwicke Dr. Watson, Dr Watson, Dr. John Watson
Rosalie Williams Mrs Hudson
Colin Jeavons Inspector Lestrade
Denis Lill Inspector Bradstreet
Eric Sykes Horace Harker
Alan Howard The Duke of Holdernesse
Harry Andrews Lord Bellinger
James Hazeldine Richard Brunton
Clive Francis Neville St Clair

Crew

John Hawkesworth

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