Posted in: TV | Tagged: sherlock holmes

Sherlock Holmes: Legendary Detective Set for New Animated Series

"Shrek" producer  David Lipman is spearheading a new animated series that will spotlight the adventures of legendary detective Sherlock Holmes.

London and Los Angeles-based Harry King Television is moving forward with an animated TV series version of Sherlock Holmes, enlisting David Lipman to spearhead the project with company CEO Nicholas Sercombe. The project is based on the latter's The Unexpurgated Adventures of Sherlock Holmes novels. Sherlock Holmes is in the Public Domain, and this is from the head of the production company's fan fiction novels.

The Sherlock Holmes animated series will be aimed at mature viewers with each season structured around central mystery arcs while connecting individual episodes to Doyle's original Holmes canon. The show promises to explore character backstories for Holmes, Watson, Mrs. Hudson, and Moriarty through a contemporary lens aimed at international adult demographics. Here's the synopsis for Secombe's first book, "A Balls-up in Bohemia (The Unexpurgated Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)": 

"Dr. Watson was the chronicler of every Sherlock Holmes adventure published in The Strand magazine between 1887 and 1927. He reported them with honesty in the bluff, army-style of a military doctor, so frank in their account of human behaviour that they were too risque for the morals of Victorian England. George Newnes, the editor, purged each story before its publication. Newnes also replaced Watson's jocular illustrations with Sidney Paget's more innocuous portrayals. Newnes deleted everybody's backgrounds, but in these accounts, Watson reveals Holmes's family: his father, Professor Julian Cornelius Bortzoy Holmes; his wife, Wendy; his sister, Rachel, as well as Mycroft. Watson also exposes Mrs. Hudson's property empire, and he tells us how Professor Moriarty became "the Napoleon of crime." Some of this new material is shocking, even by today's standards!"

Lipman brings heavyweight animation credentials to the project as producer of the first two Shrek movies and animation work on The Ren and Stimpy Show and The Tale of Despereaux. Michael Ryan, known for animated features Planet 51 and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, and Tim John, who worked on A Street Cat Named Bob, take up the rest of the core team. Sercombe has worked with British comedy legends Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Barry Humphries' Dame Edna Everage character, Mel Smith, and Bob Monkhouse in series including Top Tips, Two Old Farts in The Night, and Bob's Fab Ads.

"Taking the animation route allows us to reimagine Sherlock Holmes on a grander, more imaginative and risqué scale than before," said Sercombe. "Having David, Michael, and Tim steering the series with us combines their legacy in animation with the well-loved classic IP. Together we are creating our very own Sherlock Holmes universe that feels both timeless and completely fresh – rich in character, humo,r and adventure. We can't wait for 'Animated Sherlock' (wt) to surprise audiences globally and imbue one of the world's most beloved literary icons with newfound energy."

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