Elementary
What It Feels Like
Sherlock Holmes in modern New York, recovering addict, consulting detective for the NYPD. Joan Watson is his sober companion, then partner—gender-swapped, professionally redrawn, intellectually matched. Each episode delivers a case, but the series arc follows their partnership growing into something profound. It's network television competence elevated by two actors who refuse to phone it in across seven seasons.
The 7-Dimension Analysis
Characters & Acting (8/10)
Jonny Lee Miller's Holmes is twitchy, brilliant, socially maladroit, and unexpectedly vulnerable. Lucy Liu's Watson evolves from caretaker to detective in her own right—the transformation is gradual and convincing. Their partnership never tips into romance, which is its own kind of remarkable. Aidan Quinn and Jon Michael Hill provide grounding as the police contacts. The casting is across-the-board strong.
World Building (6/10)
New York City as procedural backdrop: brownstones, precincts, criminal undergrounds recurring across cases. The show creates a consistent Holmes mythology—his childhood, his father (never seen), his addiction, his methods. But the world exists to service cases rather than accumulate meaning. This is network procedural world-building: functional but not expansive.
Cinematography (5/10)
CBS production values: workmanlike, functional, indistinguishable from other network procedurals. The show doesn't aspire to visual distinction. Cases are shot clearly, performances are captured effectively, atmosphere is adequate. This is television as delivery mechanism for story, not visual art.
Visual Spectacle (3/10)
No spectacle here—this is people discussing evidence in rooms. The pleasures are intellectual: watching Holmes deduce, following the logic, reaching the solution. The show respects the audience's intelligence without demanding extraordinary production value.
Conceptual Density (6/10)
Updating Holmes to modern America is neither revolutionary nor simple. The addiction angle is handled with unusual thoughtfulness—recovery as ongoing process, not solved problem. The cases vary in complexity; some are genuinely clever, others paint-by-numbers. The show's intelligence is in its character work, not its mysteries.
Narrative Drive (7/10)
Procedural structure with serialized character development. Each episode delivers a resolved case, but the Holmes-Watson relationship deepens across seasons. The format is comfortable—you can watch any episode and understand what's happening—but rewarding for consistent viewers. The 24-episode seasons create room for both standalone cases and ongoing arcs.
Narrative Path & Resolution (7/10)
Seven seasons with a planned conclusion. The final episodes honor Holmes's arc—his growth as a person, not just a detective. The ending is bittersweet but appropriate. Few network procedurals achieve genuine closure; Elementary does. The series rewards commitment.
Where to Watch
US: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video
UK: Amazon Prime Video