Morris Chestnut has a star-studded suggestion on who should play Sherlock Holmes on his new CBS medical drama Watson.
“When Robert Downey Jr. is done with the Marvel universe, he can come on down. Robert can come on down,” Chestnut, 56, exclusively told Us Weekly about the actor, who previously took on the role in Guy Ritchie‘s adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.
Chestnut wouldn’t be opposed to a newcomer though, adding, “I think all of the portrayals of Holmes that I’ve seen have been just phenomenal performances. They all stepped up to the plate. So I’d be glad to have any of them.”
Based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes stories, Watson takes place six months after James Moriarty kills the legendary detective. Watson must come to terms with the loss of his best friend and partner by resuming his medical career as the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders.
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Watson has already spent plenty of time with Chestnut’s character.
“I did not consult any other [past] Watson [performances]. I did of course read some of the books and I looked at some of the other projects out there. For me, I felt that this character was different because the other Watsons are primarily not the focus,” Chestnut explained to Us. “The story is always told from Sherlock’s perspective. So this story is being told from Watson’s perspective in a very specific way. We’re part of the mythology, but the clinic and being a detective is not part of the mythology.”
As for Holmes, viewers have yet to properly meet the iconic detective — and it remains unclear whether that will change. “I wish I knew if we were ever going to see Holmes in any type of capacity,” Chestnut teased.
The focus is currently on Watson’s team, which is made up of Eve Harlow in the role of a highly skilled neurologist, Peter Mark Kendall playing twin brothers who are infectious disease and functional medicine specialists. Watson also features Inga Schlingmann, who plays a specialist in rheumatology and immunology and Rochelle Aytes rounds out the cast as Watson’s ex-wife, Mary.
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“Watson is not going to fully be able to do everything by himself. He needs his team,” Chestnut shared. “There are going to be moments throughout the season where certain things may have created some space between and his team and there may be some things that happen to draw them all closer together under a common cause.”
There’s also Moriarty, who was introduced in the series premiere. Randall Park made a brief appearance where Moriarty set a plan in motion against Watson.
“First of all, Randall Park — aside from being an incredible actor — he’s a great person. He did a great job on the show,” Chestnut continued. “He quite possibly will reappear multiple times throughout the entire first season.”
Chestnut teased that Moriarty will be “definitely looming” over Watson, adding, “He’s definitely had his effect on all of us — not just Watson. He’s definitely affected all of us. Throughout the course of the season, I would say the pilot is probably not the last you’ll see of Moriarty.”
Watson returns to CBS Sunday, February 16, and new episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.
