Lucy Liu Cast As Sherlock Holmes' Watson In 'Elementary' For CBS

TVLine:

Further proof that CBS’ in-the-works Sherlock Holmes reboot will take the iconic franchise in a radical new direction: The network has cast Lucy Liu as Watson!

Liu has been tapped to play Watson to Jonny Lee Miller‘s Sherlock in "Elementary," the network’s modern-day take on the famed detective saga.

Read the whole story: TVLine

Comments

[Hope Richardson]

12:11 AM on 05/03/2012

I'd like the idea more if they had made Holmes a woman too...

[Orual42]

11:48 PM on 03/28/2012

I have trouble imagining a reboot of Sherlock Holmes that isn't crafted around a (mostly) platonic relationship between two men. Holmes traditionally has a distant and dismissive view of women - not that canon Holmes is gay, he's more or less asexual - and I don't think a woman should be Watson. It'll be a different sort of show...

[Naganonamy]

10:55 PM on 03/20/2012

This is going to be fantastic! Even if it's a complete train wreck, I can't wait to see how it all turns out. It's such an unusual way to make an old story fresh again, it can't help but be interesting. Of course, that's the point.

The only way I can picture not enjoying it is if they change the things that really make Watson himself; his military background, his MD, or his dry wit. Or, well, that would be 'her' now, wouldn't it?

[Jacobtruth]

07:18 PM on 03/16/2012

I am a positive person, so I will give this version of Sherlock a chance.

Hope it works, it could do.

Can it offer a new view of Sherlock Holmes? A new take on how he solves crimes?

We will see.

The BBC, for all its Labour party loyalty and criminialising the poor for the license fee, it made a wonderful TV show in Sherlock the best for a few years.

It will be hard to beat.

[mich-arroyo]

01:02 PM on 03/05/2012

Btw, never did Arthur Conan Doyle write down the phrase "elementary", though it is the most common phrase everyone knows about Sherlock Holmes. This is the first proof of the remake from CBS being a failure.

[Naganonamy]

10:50 PM on 03/20/2012

...no, Holmes often used the word 'Elementary'. What he never said was 'Elementary, my dear Watson.' Closest he ever came was starting a bit of dialogue with 'My dear Watson' and replying to Watson's admiration with 'Elementary' (Adventure of the Crooked Man). In the Arthur Conan Doyle stories. The actual catch phrase was popularized by the first ever sound film, making it a the allusion rather appropriate moniker for yet another sound film.

[Sarah ohh]

06:01 PM on 02/28/2012

I don't mind having a female Watson. I do mind that CBS's intentions of having a woman Watson are to avoid the sexual tensions between two men and to add a token female. A woman Watson can be amazing, heck I would be ok with a female Sherlock or a female duo. However, CBS is changing Watson for the worse, into a weaker character. Why does she just have to be an ex-surgeon? Why can't she too be an army doctor? Not only that, I have the fear that this CBS version will have Sherlock and woman Watson go at it by the end of the season or WatsonxIrene moments. Just no. If you're going to have a woman Watson, CBS, do it right.

[BlackJAC]

11:32 AM on 02/28/2012

Recommend against, at least not with Lucy Liu.  Get Linda Park instead.

[brokenleoheart]

10:58 AM on 02/28/2012

i don't understand... is she going to have a sex change for it?

[askskia]

09:20 AM on 02/28/2012

I'm mixed. While my first reaction is to say leave Sherlock to the UK...I can't help but clap for anything that isn't a stupid reality TV show! I really hope the networks decide to finally get off that broke band wagon!

[Quale Wortham]

08:50 AM on 02/28/2012

This is utterly ridiculous. If they wanted to make an original, new show with roots in Sherlock Holmes, that's what they should have done. By saying it is Sherlock Holmes in the modern day I have certain expectations. The BBC Sherlock has updated the classic brilliantly while remaining true to it at the same time. The same for the Robert Downey movies, which gave it a steampunk twist but remained recognizable as the original characters. This American versions sounds absolutely dreadful so far and the ultimate insult ... Lucy Liu as Watson. Bah. Why is it that American networks are so dreadfully afraid of producing a show unless there is a "hot chick" (usually with long hair -- and usually blonde, so at least Liu is a *little* different) as one of the leads? To the point of completely changing an established character's sex (ala Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica, etc.).

[askskia]

09:15 AM on 02/28/2012

Did you notice that too?

[BlackJAC]

11:33 AM on 02/28/2012

Katee Sackhoff's Starbuck still remained largely true to Dirk Benedict's: they were both hotshot fighter jocks who drank, smoked, and gambled.

[Lewsgirl]

08:49 AM on 02/28/2012

Not at all a fan of the English take on Holmes. Therefore, I am eager to see this new version of the old books. So many actors have played Holmes over the years - the best to far being Jeremy Brett and Basil Rathbone - and there's room for every interpretation. Also, I like the choice of leading lady. CBS should have a winner in Jonny Lee Miller.

[SmotPoker]

07:59 AM on 02/28/2012

They will be very hard pressed to improve upon the current version out in the UK. Benedict Cumberbatch has done a wonderful job with his portrayal of the famed detective.

[askskia]

09:16 AM on 02/28/2012

He really took the role and made it his own. I think we should leave it to him!

[SmotPoker]

09:28 AM on 02/28/2012

Have you seen Jekyll? It's a little older, (2007) and has different actors, but I enjoyed that show from across the pond as well.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497298/

[metal2000]

04:31 AM on 02/28/2012

There's already a modern re-telling of Sherlock Holmes. And it still exists. So why try to compete with "Sherlock" -- a near masterpiece -- with an American network TV show? There's no way it could end up anywhere close to as good (and I do like Jonny Lee Miller), so why waste everyone's time?

[BlackJAC]

11:34 AM on 02/28/2012

Since they technically already did so with House?

[onionboy]

12:51 AM on 02/28/2012

As long as they don't make her a goody-two-shoes. That last BBC modern reboot was good. They even still left the obvious allusion that he was addict when he was bored, though they stayed clear of being explicit about it. I always found it one of the most fascinating things about the Holmes character.

[Hope Richardson]

11:21 PM on 02/27/2012

*sigh*

I just have to keep telling myself "Give it a chance..."