Elementary

Elementary Information

Elementary is an American crime drama series that premiered on CBS on September 27, 2012. It presents a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes set in the contemporary United States. It stars Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson. Holmes is a former consultant to Scotland Yard, and also an addict. He travels to New York City to check into a rehabilitation center and stays on in Brooklyn with Watson, who becomes his sober companion.

On October 23, 2012 CBS picked up Elementary for a full season. On November 15, 2012 CBS ordered two additional episodes to its current season, bringing the total number of episodes to 24.

Cast and characters

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes; a former Scotland Yard consultant who now lives in New York City after receiving drug rehabilitation there for his previous drug-related problems in England. Holmes is a deductive genius with a variety of interests and enthusiasms that assist him in his investigations. Feeling that the more interesting criminal cases are in America, he stays in New York. He contacts an old associate, Captain Thomas Gregson of the NYPD to resume his previous job as a consultant detective. He is forced by his father to live with Dr. Joan Watson, his "sober companion" who provides him with aftercare. Miller's Holmes displays many canonical aspects of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character, while his familial relations, especially his resentment for his father, have been added into his narrative. It's hinted that his exodus to the United States was not simply drug rehab or an interest in American crime, but that it was due to a woman named Irene as well.
Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson, Holmes' "sober companion". Watson was a successful surgeon, which adds to her complement of skills. She comes to Holmes when she is hired by his father as his sober companion, to help him remain abstinent after his release from rehabilitation. After her contracted time is finished she remains on after lying to Holmes, telling him that his father had retained her services. He comes to rely on her input and grows to trust her as she helps him come to terms with his life after addiction.
Aidan Quinn as Captain Thomas "Tommy" Gregson of the New York City Police Department; Once, when assigned to Scotland Yard to observe their counter-terrorism bureau, he and Sherlock's paths crossed, and he was impressed with his work as a detective. He genuinely likes Holmes and the two have mutual respect for each other, though he admits that Sherlock is a "pain in the ass."
Jon Michael Hill as Detective Marcus Bell, Gregson's assistant; while initially against the idea of getting help from Sherlock, he comes to realize Sherlock's talent as a detective and readily takes advice from him, although his attitude towards Sherlock seems barely tolerant. He criticizes Sherlock's theories often, but seems to envy Sherlock's deductive reasoning.

Casting

Liu was cast by February 2012. That July, she said that Watson is not "someone who's on the sideline; she's his sober companion, she's engaged in him, not the mystery, [...] From that point on you get to see how that blossoms out. The foot-in-the-bucket and that kind of Watson happens because in entertainment, there's got to be a sidekick. In this case, that's not the direction we're going in. Ask me in six episodes and if I have a foot in a bucket then we'll have a discussion."

Development

Writer and producer Robert Doherty created the show. Doherty has commented that it was Carl Beverly who "initially was the one who brought up the possibility of developing a Sherlock show" Beverly spoke about the relationship between Sherlock and Watson in the show in July 2012:

Relationship to BBC Sherlock

Sherlock, a contemporary reworking of the Sherlock Holmes story, began screening in the UK just over two years before Elementary premiered in the United States. The British show has since sold to more than 180 territories. In January 2012 Sherlock producer Sue Vertue told newspaper The Independent "we understand that CBS are doing their own version of an updated Sherlock Holmes. It's interesting, as they approached us a while back about remaking our show. At the time, they made great assurances about their integrity, so we have to assume that their modernised Sherlock Holmes doesn't resemble ours in any way, as that would be extremely worrying." The following month Vertue said that "We have been in touch with CBS and informed them that we will be looking at their finished pilot very closely for any infringement of our rights."

CBS made a statement on the issue: "Our project is a contemporary take on Sherlock Holmes that will be based on Holmes, Watson and other characters in the public domain, as well as original characters. We are, of course, respectful of all copyright laws and will not infringe on any stories or works that may still be protected."

Doherty spoke about comparisons between Sherlock and Elementary that July:

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		DVD release date
Season		Episodes	Season premiere	Season finale	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	1	24

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)
Viewers = 13.41	ShortSummary = Joan Watson is assigned as the sober companion of Sherlock Holmes. When she goes to meet her new companion, she finds that he escaped from rehab the day of his release. When she meets him, he takes her on the subway to a house in Manhattan; he explains that before he began using drugs he used to work for Scotland Yard as a consultant to help solve homicides. He works on the case of a woman who was attacked, and supposedly kidnapped, only to find that she was hidden in a safe room in the apartment. The next day, Holmes finds that the killer is most likely a serial killer, finding similarities to another case, except that this victim survived. After interviewing the woman, Holmes and Watson find that she knew the man who attacked her. When Holmes calls Captain Gregson, he reveals that they're at the suspect's house, who has committed suicide. Joan and Holmes fight, resulting in her saying she'll request another companion assignment. Holmes concludes that the victim's husband (a doctor) plotted to have her killed by giving his patient pills that would make him violent, then sending him after his wife. There was a pre-nuptial agreement, and he would have gotten money if his wife were to die.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 11.13	ShortSummary = Holmes and Watson investigate the murders of two illegitimate children of a wealthy businessman, but matters are complicated when a witness identifies a woman in a coma- and the man's legitimate daughter- as the murderer. Holmes ends up realizing Yvette's coma was medically induced by her doctor, with whom she had an elaborate plan to take the entire family fortune by killing all other heirs.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.91	ShortSummary = Holmes and Watson investigate a child abduction case which involves a serial killer known as the Balloon Man, as he leaves a bunch of balloons at each of his crime scenes, but matters are complicated when his first victim is 'rescued' after having lived with the kidnapper for almost a decade. Holmes works further to find that Adam is the "Balloon Man", but has already gotten an immunity deal.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.31	ShortSummary = Holmes and Watson take on a case that involves the death of a Wall Street executive overdosed on heroin, in spite of Holmes' dislike of bankers. Also, Watson tries to resume her dating.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.49	ShortSummary = While trying to find out more about what led Watson to leave her old job, Holmes begins to suspect that there's something fishy about patients at the hospital supposedly dying of natural causes, leading to an elusive Angel of Death. Meanwhile, Joan meets up with her old doctor friend, gives in to her first instinct as a doctor and saves a girl's life.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.90	ShortSummary = Holmes suspects that a plane crash may have concealed a murder.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.75	ShortSummary = Holmes investigates the possibility that a serial killer may have returned. Meanwhile, Watson learns more about Holmes.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.46	ShortSummary = Holmes tries to explain why a bomb went off four years after it was supposed to. Watson encourages Holmes to consider the sponsor who will replace her when she leaves him.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.31	ShortSummary = Holmes uses his trademark deductive reasoning skills to find the killer of a college professor, Meanwhile, Watson gets a call from a former lover who needs her help.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.46	ShortSummary = Holmes and Watson investigate how someone could have broken into a seemingly impregnable bank vault called the Leviathan. Also, Watson's mother visits her daughter.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 11.44	ShortSummary = Holmes and Watson investigate the murder of the general manager of a high-end Manhattan hotel whose body is found inside an industrial laundry machine. Meanwhile, since Joan's time with Holmes is almost up, he offers her an apprenticeship.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 11.48	ShortSummary = Holmes is reunited with "M." (Vinnie Jones), a British criminal who appears to have followed Holmes to New York. Meanwhile, Watson has reservations about leaving Holmes and taking on a new client.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.90	ShortSummary = Holmes, while suspended from consulting for the NYPD, can't resist investigating the death of a conspiracy theorist and stumbles onto a string of killings related to a national security risk.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 20.80	ShortSummary = While chasing down a serial killer escaped from custody, an FBI profiler and ex-lover of Holmes's comes back into his life. Meanwhile, Joan is evicted from her apartment because the man she had let stay there shot a pornographic film in it.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.84	ShortSummary = Holmes tries to find out who kidnapped the adult daughter of his ex-drug dealer, Rhys. Watson worries about Holmes's sobriety when Rhys suggests Holmes was a better detective when he was using drugs.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 10.98	ShortSummary = When Detective Bell survives a drive by shooting while driving his car and his suspected attacker later turns up dead, all signs point to a revenge killing. Holmes and Watson work the case hoping to clear the detective of any wrong-doing. Meanwhile their relationship takes an interesting turn.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 11.19	ShortSummary = Holmes investigates when a wealthy philanthropist believes he was intentionally infected with an incurable illness "? cerebral amyloid angiopathy; Holmes sends Joan to a suspicious dry cleaners to teach her deductive skills.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers = 11.33	ShortSummary = Joan investigates her first solo case when a wife disappears. The missing woman left behind a tear-filled video that mentions a murder on a subway platform. While Joan searches for the vanished lady, Sherlock probes the murder.	LineColor = 848484 }} </ref>	DirectedBy = Andrew Bernstein	WrittenBy = Jason Tracey	OriginalAirDate =	Viewers =	ShortSummary = Sherlock and Joan try to prevent a robbery from one of the largest cash vaults in the country during the middle of a Nor'easter. Meanwhile, Sherlock tries to help a transgender woman who is recovering from her latest break-up.	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 848484 }}	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 848484 }}

Reception

The pilot episode received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Metacritic gave it a score of 73% based on 29, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2012	People's Choice Awards	Favorite New TV Drama	Elementary
2012	Satellite Awards	Actor in a Television Series Drama	Jonny Lee Miller

Broadcast

Elementary premiered in Canada on September 27, 2012 on the Global Television Network. It began airing in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2012 on Sky Living. In Australia, Network Ten began airing the show on February 3, 2013. The series aired in New Zealand on Prime (New Zealand) from 27 February 2013.

On February 3, 2013, Elementary was broadcast after the Super Bowl. The episode drew 20.8 million viewers despite running out of prime time in the Eastern time zone as a result of a game delay.