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Watson (Season 1) (DVD Review)

Watson takes the classic Sherlock Holmes legend and shifts the spotlight: Holmes is gone (or presumed so), and Dr. John Watson is trying to rebuild his life. It begins six months after Holmes’s death in a dramatic confrontation with Moriarty. Watson wakes in a Swiss hospital with a traumatic brain injury and learns from his friend/ally Shinwell that Holmes left him (in his will) enough resources to open a clinic for rare medical disorders.

He builds this “Holmes Clinic” in Pittsburgh, bringing together a team of medical specialists — a neurologist, immunologist, infectious disease experts, etc. Over the course of the season, the show alternates between “patient of the week” style medical mysteries and lingering threads from Watson’s past: his grief over Holmes, flashbacks/auditory hallucinations tied to the traumatic event, and the omnipresent Moriarty, who turns out to still be alive and pulling strings.

The finale (“Your Life’s Work,” which is a two-part episode) leans into higher stakes: there’s a plot that directly targets Watson’s clinic and his team, illness (or engineered disease), moral and medical dilemmas, and a confrontation with Moriarty.

The Characters & Dynamics

Here are the main players and how they’re handled in Season 1:

• Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut) — the emotional and moral center. He’s trying to hold everything together: his clinic, his staff, his own memories and guilt. The show leans into his military past, his injury, his loss of Holmes. Watson is “doctor + detective” here: diagnosing rare diseases, investigating mysterious causes, sometimes even walking into danger tied to Moriarty’s schemes.
• Shinwell Johnson (Ritchie Coster) — Watson’s close ally. He supports Watson, helps administratively, and is one of the bridges to Watson’s past, especially what happened with Holmes and Moriarty. He also carries secrets of his own or is at least pulled into the investigations that complicate his relationship with Watson.
• Mary Morstan (Rochelle Aytes) — Watson’s ex-wife and hospital administrator. Her role intersects both the medical world and Watson’s personal life. She brings in referrals of cases to the Holmes Clinic, which forces Watson to balance professionalism with unresolved emotional tensions.
• The Specialty Team — A group of doctors with different medical specialties and personalities:
  • Ingrid Derian — the workaholic, emotionally guarded neurologist.
  • Sasha Lubbock — immunology specialist, with her own backstory (adopted, etc.).
  • The Croft brothers (Stephens / Adam Croft) — twin infectious disease doctors, with contrasting temperaments.
• Moriarty (Randall Park) — the antagonist who’s not gone. He shows up in mysterious ways, seemingly orchestrating dangerous plots involving disease and medicine. The show uses him both as a medical threat and a psychological/ethical one. By season’s end, his fate becomes a key turning point for Watson.

What Works Well

Season 1 of Watson has several strong points:

1. Fresh spin combining medical mystery + Holmes lore
   The merging of “diagnosing weird medical conditions” with detective elements gives something that feels new-ish. It isn’t just “a crime show” or “a hospital show” — the mystery threads (especially Moriarty’s return) add a layer of tension.
2. Strong lead performance
   Morris Chestnut brings gravitas to Watson. His portrayal of someone scarred, both mentally and emotionally, works well. His flashbacks and how they weigh on him add texture.
3. Interesting supporting characters
   The specialty team each has quirks and stakes. The dynamics between them, and how their medical cases tie into personal challenges, are among the more engaging parts.
4. Decent pacing of the arc
   The show gives room to both weekly cases and season-long mysteries. Moriarty’s presence builds gradually, both in overt threats and more subtle manipulations. The finale brings many of the threads together in a satisfying way. Also, the two-part “Your Life’s Work” episode heightens tension without feeling entirely rushed.
5. Moments of emotional weight
   Watson’s grappling with loss, Mary’s connection to him, secret guilt, hallucinations: these give the procedural stuff more resonance than “just another case” might have.

What Doesn’t Always Land

There are also weaknesses or areas where the show stumbles:

1. Balancing tone
   Sometimes Watson feels like it’s trying to be three things at once: medical drama, detective mystery, and psychological thriller. There are episodes where the tone zig-zags too abruptly — serious ethical issues in one scene, then more formulaic patient-of-the-week stuff in the next. That can dilute emotional impact.
2. Predictability / formula shrink
   Because many episodes follow a “mystery + medical diagnosis” pattern, there are times you see twists coming. Some medical cases are intriguing, but others lean on familiar tropes (“rare disease X,” surgery just in time) that don’t surprise much.
3. Holmes mythology sometimes feels forced
   The show tries hard to weave in Holmes and Moriarty lore, which is important for atmosphere and stakes — but occasionally those references feel more like cynical nods than organic parts of the plot. For some viewers, the constant invocation of Holmes, and the “what if he’s alive?” tension, might feel like padding.
4. Character arcs uneven
   Some supporting cast members get more development than others. A character might have a rich subplot in one episode, then fade into the background the next. Also, Watson himself sometimes seems less flawed than he could be, which limits how far the show can push his growth.
5. Pacing issues in mid-season
   With 13 episodes, there are stretches where momentum dips. The buildup to the finale is strong, but a few middle episodes feel like pauses more than progressions — useful for world-building, but sometimes draggy.

Overall Verdict

Season 1 of Watson introduces a really interesting premise: what happens when Dr. Watson has to become the anchor without Holmes, carving out a role that mixes medicine and mystery. The show mostly pulls this off — it’s engaging, has enough emotional baggage, and keeps you invested in both the weekly cases and the larger conflict with Moriarty.

It isn’t perfect. Some tonal shifts, predictable beats, and uneven character development hold it back from being something truly standout. But for a first season, it shows promise. If you like medical dramas with a twist, or Sherlock Holmes-adjacent stories, Watson is worth your time.

If I were putting this on a scale, I’d call Season 1 “solid with room to grow” — roughly a 3 out of 5 in my book. I’m curious to see where Season 2 takes the characters, especially how they’ll handle the aftermath of the finale, and whether the Holmes mythology will deepen in a more natural way (or feel more forced).

Season  

Watson, Season 1 is Now Available to Purchase!

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