Modern adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’sSherlock Holmesare almost never-ending, but there’s a different iconic detective who I would much rather watch a TV show about. Through the years,Sherlock Holmes has been ripe for adaptations. Hardly a decade has gone by since the 1930s without a major Sherlock Holmes adaptation in either film or television, and countless actors have taken on the mantle of the world’s greatest detective. Conan Doyle’s work has been popular for well over a century, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
In fact, there will be three new Sherlock Holmes adaptations in 2025 alone. Morris Chestnut’sWatsonis already getting a season 2after it debuted in January. The CW’sSherlock & Daughterhas a release dateof April 16, whileGuy Ritchie’sYoung Sherlockis expected to release in 2025. Sherlock Holmes fans are never left wanting for more adaptations of Conan Doyle’s work, but I think a different detective deserves his chance in the spotlight. If for no other reason, it will provide a break from the constant deluge of Sherlock Holmes stories.
Modern Sherlock Holmes Adaptations Are Fun, But We Don’t Need More
There Have Been Major Sherlock Holmes Adaptations Every Year For Over A Decade
I like adaptations and modernizations of Sherlock Holmes as much as anyone, but we’re getting to a point where we’ve had enough.It seems like there’s been either a direct or indirect retelling of Sherlock Holmes every year since Guy Ritchie’s 2009 movieSherlock Holmes, and the character has been popular in film and TV since the 1930s. Many of the shows and movies either based on or inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work are really great and well worth watching, but at some point, the TV landscape got oversaturated by the world’s greatest detective.
2009
2009–2017
2011
2012–2019
2015
Holmes & Watson (parody)
2018
2020
2022
2025
Young Sherlock
The problem gets even worse when you look at indirect retellings of Conan Doyle’s work. There are countlessTV detectives who were inspired by Sherlock Holmes: just to name a few, there’sPsych,Luther,House,Bones,True Detective, andMonk.you’re able to pretty much name any mystery show from the past 30 years, and the chances are it has some striking similarities to Sherlock Holmes. Even Benoit Blanc inKnives Outis, to an extent, inspired by Sherlock Holmes. I’m not trying to say that these shows are bad in any way; what I’m saying is that we’ve gotten our fill of Sherlock Holmes.
I’d Rather See A New Columbo Show Than Another Sherlock Holmes Story
Columbo Would Be A Much More Refreshing Reboot Than Another Sherlock Holmes Show
Instead of getting yet another Sherlock Holmes adaptation, I would much rather see a reboot of Peter Falk’sColumbo.Simply put, aColumboreboot would be a lot more original and interesting than more Sherlock stories. For example,Columbofeatures its unique “howdunnit” formula, where viewers see the murder and watch the lieutenant piece it together.Monkhad the same formula, butColumbodid it first. Likewise, there simply isn’t another TV detective who’s as endearing as Frank Columbo is. He’s working class, he’s modest to a fault, and I, for one, could watch him go toe-to-toe with society’s elite endlessly.
I, for one, would welcome something that could really shake up TV mystery shows the way aColumboreboot could. Almost every Sherlock-inspired TV mystery is, at its core, predictable. There’s the relationship dynamic between Holmes and Watson, the arch-nemesis Moriarty, and plenty of brilliant crimes that are miraculously solved in the final moments.Columboflips all that on its head: he works alone, we already knew who committed the crime at the start of the episode, and the thrill of each episode was watching Frank unravel his suspects in a brilliant cat-and-mouse game, not trying to figure out who could have committed the murder.
Columbo Is One Of The Only Detectives Who Isn’t A Sherlock Holmes Copycat
Columbo Is The Antithesis Of Sherlock, Which Makes Him A Great Change Of Pace For Modern TV
Another big reason I thinkColumbowould succeed in the modern TV landscape is because of how different its protagonist is from Sherlock Holmes. As previously mentioned, there have been countless retellings, adaptations, and Sherlock-inspired stories in just the last 25 years. At some point, they started to blend together. How different, really, arePsychandMonk? Shawn and Adrian have different personalities, but they’re essentially the same show at their core.Columbois one of the few detective shows that’s truly different from Sherlock Holmes and all the stories inspired by him, which makes it the perfect show to stand out as unique.
As mystery novelist B.K. Stevens noted (viaSleuthSayers), Columbo is the American version and complete antithesis of Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is noble-born, naturally talented, arrogant, and a symbol of everything Victorian England idolized. Columbo, on the other hand, is blue-collar, diligent, modest, and a symbol of the ideals of democracy and equality that America is supposed to idolize.Frank Columbo and Sherlock Holmes couldn’t be more different, which makesColumbothe perfect detective to capitalize on the Sherlock-dominated mystery genre. If any detective would stand out among the Adrian Monks and Gregory Houses of the TV landscape, it would be Frank Columbo.
If any detective would stand out among the Adrian Monks and Gregory Houses of the TV landscape, it would be Frank Columbo.
Oh, and one more thing. There’s never been a better time forColumboto make a comeback.Columbo’s last season aired in 2003, more than 20 years ago.Mystery shows and movies in general have also been steadily rising in popularity, with recent additions likeGlass OnionandThe Residencefinding massive widespread appeal. The audience is there, and that 20-year hiatus makesColumboperfectly primed to be a completely different offering for mystery fans. I only hope that someone with some power realizes the potentialColumbohas, especially in relation toSherlock Holmes.
