WATSON Post-Mortem: Craig Sweeny on the Moriarty Twist

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the series premiere of WATSON.]

Though Sherlock Holmes is dead in the world of CBS’ WATSON, the drama revealed its Moriarty in the final moments of the Sunday, January 26 pilot—played by Randall Park.

“Obviously, the Randall Park of it all has, amazingly, remained a secret,” showrunner Craig Sweeny told reporters. “And we think it [will] be a joy for the audience to see that and go, ‘Oh my God!'”

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, Moriarty was a foe of Sherlock, even leading to his “death” at one point; here, the series picks up months after Moriarty caused Holmes’ death and pits him against Watson (Morris Chestnut).

But despite Moriarty’s importance in the lore, the intention is for the character’s story to be wrapped up in the CBS drama’s first year.

“We are telling the complete story of Moriarty in season 1,” Sweeny said. “My favorite kind of season is one that is [contained]. If you look at shows I love, like, let’s say THE SHIELD or BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER—Two very different shows, but each season of those shows was a complete story. And then when you came back…it was a new thing, it was a new challenge for the characters.”

“And so we are telling the complete story of Watson and Moriarty [in season 1],” he continued. “And Watson, hopefully, trying to redress the wrongs that were done to Sherlock by Moriarty, that will be told in its entirety in season 1.”

RELATED:

• WATSON: CBS Sets Post-AFC Championship Game Launch for Series Premiere
• CBS Orders WATSON to Series

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page or our Instagram.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.