The Sherlock Holmes stories have been adapted into many different forms over the years. Because the original stories feature a predominantly white male cast, many adaptations assign a different gender, race, sexuality, species, or setting to the Great Detective. This is one way to unite the original stories with the incredible diversity of the community that loves them. Below you will find an incomplete list of published works featuring sleuths inspired by Sherlock Holmes, organized by time period with short descriptions and links to learn more. Please contact us if you know of any media that should be added to the list!
Historical Setting (early 20th century and before)
A Charlotte House Affair series
Book series. Charlotte House and her friend Jane Woodsen investigate the goings-on in Bath, England, during the Napoleonic War.
221B: The Webseries
Web series. The comedic, domestic adventures of female Sherlock Holmes and male John Watson in the original time period.
My Dearly Beloved Detective
Movie. Shirley Holmes and Jane Watson in the original era in this Russian film.
Gosick
Manga. In a fictional European country in the 1920s, Kazuya Kujo meets Victorique de Blois, a pipe-smoking girl-genius with a knack for solving crimes
The Great Mouse Detective:
Movie. In 1897 London, Basil is a mouse living in the basement of 221B, when the daughter of a toymaker asks for help finding her father's kidnapper
Sherlock Holmes Puppet Entertainment
TV series. In this Japanese series, boys Holmes and Watson are roommates at a Victorian England boarding school.
The Strange Adventures of Charlotte Holmes
Book. Sherlock and Mycroft's sister solving crimes in Victorian England just like her brothers, with the help of Mary Watson.
The Lady Sherlock series
Book series. Charlotte Holmes assumes the alias Sherlock to investigate the murders her sister and father are being framed for. Set in Victorian London.
The Enola Holmes series
Book series. Author Nancy Springer imagines what would happen if Sherlock and Mycroft had a younger sister.
Young Miss Holmes
Manga. Sherlock Holmes’ 10 year old niece is inspired by her uncle to investigate mysteries in Victorian London.
Lady Sherlock
Book. Detective Natasha Dorrington is faced against a plot to bring war upon Europe in 1906 London.
My Dear Watson
Book. Sherlock Holmes (nee Lucy Holmes) has actually been a woman all along, masking her true identity to pursue her career of consulting detective.
The Basil Rathbone films
Movie series. The first two of these 14 films feature Rathbone as Holmes in retellings of the canon. The rest were adaptations of the man set in the 1940s.
Sherlock Holmes
TV series. Originally aired in 1985, this series starts Jeremy Brett as Holmes and is renowned for its loyalty to the original stories.
Sherlock Holmes
Movie series. This series of films features Robert Downey Junior as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson in a colorful Victorian England.
Sherlock Holmes: The Strange Case of Miss Faulkner
Play. This first portrayal of Holmes on stage was co-written by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle.
Auguste Lupa Mystery
Book Duology. The alleged son of Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler resides in a small French Town during World War I.
The Adventure of the Incognita Countess
Book. Taking place on the RMS Titanic, Holmes' step-niece and half-vampire Lucy Harker is a British agent who falls for a German vampire (who might be a spy).
Modern-Day Setting (late 20th-early 21st century)
The Adventures of Shirley Holmes
TV series. The grand-niece of Sherlock Holmes solves crimes in 1990s Canada.
Miss Sherlock
TV series. Sara Shelly "Sherlock" Futaba and Dr. Wato-san Tachibana act as police consultants on modern-day Japan's strangest cases.
The Charlotte Holmes series
Book Series. The modern-day descendants of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson (Charlotte and Jamie) are students at the same prep school, being framed for a student's murder.
The Great Shelby Holmes series
Book Series. The duo reimagined as sixth-graders in modern-day Harlem, NYC, with a female Holmes and a Black Watson.
Herlock
Web series. Sheridan Hume and Johnny Watt are two women seeking justice and exploring the obstacles 21st century women face.
Baker Street
Webseries. Two ladies, Holmes and Watson, are roommates solving mysteries in modern-day Toronto
The Twisted Blackmailer
Book. Joanna Watson is an honors student who gets sucked into Sherlock Holmes' (the new girl at school) investigation of a blackmailer.
Watson and Holmes
Graphic Novel. The duo here is reimagined as Black Americans in 21st century Harlem, NYC
House
TV series. Holmes-like doctor Greg House treats difficult to diagnose patients in a New Jersey hospital.
Sherlock
TV Series. This series from the BBC places Holmes and Watson in modern-day London.
Elementary
TV series. Here, Sherlock Holmes is a recovering white male addict who, alongside Asian-American Dr. Joan Watson, solves the NYPD's toughest cases
Futuristic Setting (late 21st century and beyond)
The Tea Master and the Detective
Book. Long Chau, an Asian woman scholar, works with a living mindship to solve a murder. Set in the distant future in deep space.
The Janet Watson Chronicles
Book Series. Sara Holmes and Janet Watson, two Black queer women, investigate murders of veterans from the New Civil War. Set in a dystopian future.
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes
Anime. Sherlock Shellingford, along with other girls named after famous detectives, attends the Holmes Detective School. Set in the near future.
Sherlock Hound
Anime. The worlds of Conan Doyle reimagined as dogs in the nearish future.
Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
TV series. This animated childen's show features the Doyle-era Holmes defrosted from the past to solve crimes with a robotic Watson and female Inspetor Lestrade.
Doctor Who
TV Series. Madame Vastra, her wife, and their alien butler solve crimes with a sci-fi twist.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Elementary, Dear Data (episode). An attempt to provide Data with a challenging Sherlock Holmes holodeck RPG scenario backfires when its Prof. Moriarty character accidentally becomes self-aware.