As a lifelong Sherlock fan, watching the alleged father-daughter dynamic in Sherlock & Daughter season 1 left me less than thrilled

Sherlock & Daughter season 1 debuted on April 16, 2025, on The CW in the United States and Discovery+ in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Set in the late-19th century, the series offers a new take on the classic detective story by making Holmes team up with his alleged daughter, Amelia, to solve crime cases.

As a huge fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective book series, I was excited to watch the latest adaptation created by Brendan Foley. David Thewlis's casting as the protagonist was another reason that drew me to the series.

I was also looking forward to seeing the dynamic between Holmes and his alleged daughter, Amelia, played by the actress Blu Hunt.

The show's official synopsis, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"Blackmailed and sidelined from investigating, Sherlock Holmes finds hope when a young woman arrives on his doorstep, potentially holding the key to solving the kidnapping of an ambassador's daughter."

Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's personal opinion.

Sherlock & Daughter fails to capitalize on its exciting premise

The CW series takes a detour from the familiar depiction of Sherlock Holmes and shows him as an older, more reclusive character. He is forced to take a step back from his detective work by a mysterious group that has abducted his friend, Watson, and landlady, Mrs. Hudson.

In Sherlock & Daughter, Holmes finds himself in a strange predicament as he is being closely watched by this sinister organization that leaves behind a red thread at every crime scene to signal their involvement.

In order to see his friends alive again, Holmes agrees to stay away from such cases completely.

A young Native American woman named Amelia Rojas arrives from California, claiming to be his biological daughter, which Holmes denies. It doesn't help matters that he does not recognize her mother, the inventor Lucia Rojas.

She died under suspicious circumstances and left behind no substantial proof of his paternity.

Nevertheless, Holmes keeps her around as he sees an opportunity to train Amelia to be his assistant, while she pretends to work as his scullery maid. Since he cannot be seen in public solving criminal cases, he sends Amelia to collect evidence on his behalf.

Moreover, her appearance as a maid gives her the perfect cover to do the job without raising any suspicions.

At home, Sherlock puts together all the clues to find the perpetrator and rescue the victims in time. In exchange, Amelia gets to use all her newfound knowledge to track down her mother's killer.

Sherlock & Daughter examines the relationship between Holmes and Amelia

The alleged father-daughter duo successfully solve their first case together in Sherlock & Daughter season 1 episode 2. They rescue the American ambassador's daughter, Clara Anderson, who was kidnapped by the family's new coachman, Charlie.

However, their crime-solving partnership suffers a huge blow when Holmes finds the same red thread among Amelia's belongings, making him question her true motives.

After watching the first two episodes of Sherlock & Daughter, I felt the show could have done more to establish the core relationship between Holmes and Amelia. To be fair, two episodes are not enough time to do that.

With eight more episodes to go in Sherlock & Daughter, it remains to be seen how the evolution of their relationship will tug at the heartstrings of fans like me.

New episodes of Sherlock & Daughter will release on Wednesdays at 9 pm on The CW.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by Prem Deshpande