On September 27, CBS will be bringing about their own new Sherlock Holmes mystery series, Elementary, to take the coveted 10PM Thursday time slot following The Big Bang Theory, Two And A Half Men, and Person Of Interest. The series has been talked about quite a bit because of comparisons to the BBC series Sherlock, as well as the notion that the Watson to this Sherlock is a female, Joan Watson, played by Lucy Liu.
At Comic-Con, we spoke briefly with Jonny Lee Miller (Sherlock Holmes) and Lucy Liu about some of those hot-button topics.
The BBC Sherlock concept came up fairly quickly, with one reporter asking about Benedict Cumberbatch’s reaction to his Frankenstein role-swapping-mate taking the role of Sherlock Holmes. “It was pretty weird when that came up, but Benedict’s been very supportive,” Miller says. “I really wouldn’t have been interested in doing this [show] unless I felt it was completely different, and I feel that it is. A different audience, as well,” he assures.
As Miller and Cumberbatch alternated the role of Victor Frankenstein, might the two actors switch shows at some point. “Who knows what might happen,” Miller humors the interviewer. “Things are pretty crazy sometimes.”
Unlike the BBC Sherlock, Elementary takes place in a new venue – New York City, which is said to be a character of its own in this new show. Lucy Liu says that this “brings a different element.” “It’s a nice twist,” she says. “I think people can relate to that. People understand New York, and there’s an energy, a vitality, and an originality to New York, and that’s going to bring a twist to having Johnny being there, and Holmes being somebody who is actually British living in New York.”
Liu also addressed the change in gender for the Watson character, and contrary to what the Elementary producers may have said, she feels that the possibility of a Holmes/Romance romance is “pretty open.”
“It wasn’t really in the script originally when we did the pilot, and I think [when] the chemistry between the two characters developed in the way that it did, it wasn’t something that was written. I think that we will develop in some way that is going to be unpredictable, even to us. If it turns into something that has a chemistry, I think that’s why viewers will want to tune in. It’s not about the crimes every week. That would be more procedural. I think the fact that the audience develops a more intimate relationship with the characters is why they tune in. Not because it’s a different mystery every week,” she says.
“They antagonize each other quite a lot, really, in the pilot. It’s always a great starting point, I think, for characters to be,” Miller adds.
See the premiere of Elementary Thursday, September 27 on CBS, and if you’d like to talk about the show, come by the forum thread at KSiteTV!
1 Comment
It’s an odd sort of concept.A non practicing doctor and a foreign ex heroin addict solving crimes every week,but the relationship between them is interesting.I think Lucy Liu is a very underated actress,she’s very alluring and Miller is as odd as two left feet which is unusual in American mainstream tv.This may be worth watching.