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Young Sherlock Showrunner on Telling Holmes Origin Story, Guy Ritchie

Young Sherlock creator/showrunner Matthew Parkhill spoke with us about fleshing out Holmes' origin story, working with Guy Ritchie, and more.

When Young Sherlock creator and showrunner Matthew Parkhill (Deep State) read the Andrew Lane works based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novels, he enjoyed the more proto take on the beloved detective, but objected to how old his lead should be so for the Prime Video series, working with producer Guy Ritchie, they envision the character to be a young adult, taking some creative liberties. After casting Hero Fiennes Tiffin as the title character and Dónal Finn as his friend and future archnemesis, James Moriarty, the wheels were set in motion.

Young Sherlock is a legendary origin story of the iconic, world-renowned detective, an irreverent, action-laden mystery that follows the character's early adventures. Sherlock Holmes is a disgraced young man – raw and unfiltered– when he finds himself wrapped up in a murder case that threatens his liberty. His first-ever case unravels a globe-trotting conspiracy, culminating in an explosive showdown that changes his life forever. Unfolding in 1870s Oxford and adventuring abroad, the series will expose the early antics of the anarchic adolescent who is yet to evolve into Baker Street's most renowned resident. Parkhill spoke to Bleeding Cool about deviating from Lane's stories, working with Ritchie, Fiennes Tiffin, and Finn's chemistry, and casting.

Young Sherlock Showrunner Matthew Parkhill on Fueling a Youthful Take on Character

What do you like about Andrew Lane's take on Young Sherlock on the Conan Doyle characters?

What happened when I got involved with Andy, and read his books, which I enjoyed, I wanted to go in a different direction. I wanted to choose a very different starting point, because Andy's Sherlock is a 14-year-old schoolboy, and the things I was interested in exploring didn't really work for that. Early on, I was brought on by a team, and I said to the guys, "Look, I'd like to start it in a different place with your blessing." I pitched them some ideas, and they were like, "Okay," so I never really adapted the books, if I'm honest. Not because I didn't love Andy's books, but because I wanted to do something different.

What does working with Guy Ritchie mean in terms of bringing to this world whatever he had from his film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes?

Initially, it's quite daunting, because he's Guy Ritchie and I'm not. I've always loved his movies, but quickly, he is a director who loves being on set, and he gets his [creative] juices flowing and sparks on set, and he loves reworking stuff and working with the actors. We would rework stuff every day. Initially, it was quite daunting, but very quickly for me, I realized it's pretty liberating. When I look at his work now, having worked with him, I realize the energy of his work is a result of the energy of his process on a day-to-day basis on set.

What did you like about Hero and Dónal and the way they brought Sherlock and Moriarty to life?

Hero did this in the very first audition. I loved the sense of wonder and almost innocence that he brings to the character. The way he looks at the world, he has this sort of infectious energy and charm, which draws me in. Dónal is a master at…he has a magnetism. He can have this twinkle in his eye and this smile, but at the same time, there's a sort of element of darkness, and somehow, he could play both at the same time. I find that incredibly compelling, and then the two of them together have this beautiful chemistry, and they were quite generous actors together that they would work and rework their scenes and be working together to find that rhythm and bounce.

Can you talk about the talented ensemble you have with Zine [Tseng], Joseph [Fiennes], Natascha [McElhone], Max [Irons], and Colin [Firth]?

Zine was a self-tape I saw that she sent all the way from Taiwan, and straight away, it was one of the best self-tapes I've ever seen. I was like, "Who's this?!" She'd just done the first season of 3 Body Problem, so I watched her scenes in that, and then we brought her over to London, and she did a chemistry read with Hero, so that was how that happened. I've always been a fan of Natascha for a long time. We met, had a coffee, and talked about the role. Luckily for us, she said yes.

Colin is Colin Firth, and I should be so lucky, he said, "Yes." Weirdly, some of it was pretty straightforward. Joe was an interesting one, because I've been a big fan of his, and I thought it was casting the uncle-nephew thing. I thought, "Is it too cute? How's that going to work?" Then I met him for a coffee, and the love he has for Hero was so clear, and I thought this is going to really enrich the relationship on screen. We got lucky with that cast.

Season one of Young Sherlock is available on Prime Video.

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