Young Sherlock is set to explore the younger years of Sherlock Holmes, and thanks to that, it’s solving a big mystery about the detective’s backstory, but that might not be entirely good. As one of the most popular and beloved literary characters, Sherlock Holmes and his many cases have been adapted to all types of media for decades. Some of these have taken creative liberties to give the detective and his stories a twist, while others have expanded his story beyond what Arthur Conan Doyle’s books established. New Sherlock Holmes adaptations are now in the works, among them a TV series titled Young Sherlock.

The project will be released on Prime Video and will count on Guy Ritchie as director, who is no stranger to Sherlock Holmes after directing two Holmes movies, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the Great Detective. Young Sherlock is based on the young adult novels of the same name by Andrew Lane, which follow teenage Sherlock in the 1860s and 1870s as he solves a variety of mysteries. Young Sherlock has found its lead actor in Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and two new cast additions show the series is solving a huge Holmes mystery, but it might not be a good thing.

Young Sherlock Will Introduce Holmes’ Parents, Silas & Cordelia

Sherlock Holmes’ Parents Are Rarely Included In Film & TV Adaptations

The Young Sherlock TV series doesn’t have a projected release date yet, but it’s already getting its cast together. In addition to Hero Fiennes Tiffin as the title character, Young Sherlock has now cast Joseph Fiennes and Natascha McElhone as Sherlock’s parents, Silas and Cordelia. In Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books, there’s no mention of his parents, and his family is limited to his older brother, Mycroft. However, many authors, filmmakers, and other artists have expanded Sherlock’s family with more siblings and introduced their parents, all of them different depending on the artist.

Recent adaptations of Sherlock Holmes and related media have explored the detective’s family, as did Elementary, the BBC’s Sherlock, and Netflix’s Enola Holmes, but not all of them went deep into Sherlock’s dynamic and relationship with his parents. By casting big names like Fiennes and McElhone, Young Sherlock hints at giving Silas and Cordelia a bigger and more important role than recent adaptations of the detective, hopefully finally exploring their relationship with their genius son beyond the surface, but this might end up hurting the famous detective’s legacy.

Why Meeting Sherlock Holmes’ Parents Could Backfire

There’s A Reason Why Sherlock Holmes’ Parents Aren’t Mentioned Often

Properly meeting Sherlock Holmes’ parents in Young Sherlock will be interesting and exciting, but seeing how Silas and Cordelia are described, this could end up backfiring. Silas is described as a scientist, explorer, and businessman, while Cordelia is an artist, “devoted mother”, and matriarch of the Holmes clan. This explains why Sherlock Holmes is interested in a variety of topics and is so knowledgeable in all of them, but at the same time, this is disappointing.

Conan Doyle’s books make the audience believe Holmes developed all those interests by himself, and his own curiosity and thirst for knowledge led him to study so much, which is a big part of what makes the character so great and interesting. While it makes sense that his parents would have had some influence on Holmes’ interests and knowledge, Young Sherlock must be careful in how it handles this, as it could take away a large part of what makes the Great Detective so fascinating.