Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, was easily one of the best adaptations of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, but with no sign of a season 5 on the horizon, it's time to look elsewhere. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular stories in modern times, with dozens of adaptations across the big and small screens, and various other mediums. However, Sherlock managed to reimagine and reinvigorate the series in a new and exciting way.

With Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular lead, ed by the outstanding Martin Freeman as his faithful sidekick, Dr. John Watson, the show was a hit from the start. Despite the popularity of the series, the show did have one significant drawback. Every season was between three and four episodes long, and they took years to produce. Of course, with both Cumberbatch and Freeman's fame increasing at astronomical rates, this was to be expected. Fortunately, there are plenty of other shows that deliver similar clever narratives, and thrilling stories.

10 Watson

1 Season

Watson is a new series that began airing on CBS in 2024. The show follows Dr. John Watson, a former colleague of the late Sherlock Holmes, who returns to his career in the medical field. However, using the experiences and lessons he learned while working with Holmes, Watson tends to be creative in his approach to helping patients.

The show appears to draw heavily from other adaptations such as House, and Elementary, blending genres, using many popular quotes associated with the characters, and trying to build on the success of the previous iterations. While it has received some less than favorable reviews thus far, the show appears to be building towards some exciting reveals, which could result in future seasons being more impactful and original.

9 Dracula

1 Season

Sherlock Holmes is only one of the extraordinary stories to come from brilliant minds in the 19th Century British Isles. Doyle was born in England, while contemporaries like Bram Stoker were born in Ireland. Stoker wrote the original Dracula novel, which led to countless adaptations of its own, including one TV series written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, the creative duo who brought Sherlock to life on the small screen.

This limited series followed a similar format to Sherlock with three episodes at 90 minutes each. This time, the story is a more faithful adaptation set in a contemporary time period to the novel, and it provides one of the most authentic and tense adaptations of the novel to date. The show is also adorned with outstanding actors such as Claes Bang, who brings the character of Dracula to life.

8 Elementary

7 Seasons

However, if Sherlock's detective and crime mystery work is what you're looking for, then the next best thing after the BBC series is the American show, Elementary. Johnny Lee Miller tackles the role of Sherlock, and alongside a gender-swapped Watson, played by the phenomenal and formidable Lucy Liu, they solve mysteries. In many ways, this is a more familiar Sherlock story, with the biggest adjustments being the modern-day setting, and the fact that the story is set in New York.

Miller and Liu have incredible chemistry, and the show delivers a wonderful fresh take on a very old story.

Miller and Liu have incredible chemistry, and the show delivers a wonderful fresh take on a very old story. It's dramatic, tense, clever, and invigorating throughout. And thanks to casting Miller as the leading man, Sherlock continues to have his trademark British wit and sarcasm. This is truly an outstanding take on the story, with seven full seasons to enjoy.

7 House

8 Seasons

Still in America, House delivers another exciting take on Doyle's character, with some clever adjustments to set itself apart from everything else that came before. House once again stars a British actor, Hugh Laurie, as Dr. Gregory House, this show's version of Sherlock. However, Laurie plays an egotistical American doctor, and he does a spectacular job. The show is a medical drama, but with House and his team working as world-renowned diagnosticians, they are given the most mysterious and challenging cases to solve.

House loves a puzzle, and he often fails to see people as more than a problem to be solved. This leads to some incredible drama, wonderful tense mysteries, and banter that is second to none. It's a different setting, but the character is familiar, and the story is remarkably clever. There are a full eight seasons to enjoy, and the show continues to stand out as one of my all-time favorite Sherlock Holmes adaptations despite its departure from the source material.

6 Inside Man

1 Season

Not to be confused with the 2006 movie starring Denzel Washington, this 2022 limited TV series stars David Tennant and Stanley Tucci in one of the most compelling shows in recent years. Once again, this show is from the brilliant mind of Steven Moffat, and it has just four episodes in which it delivers a tense story that will have viewers on the edge of their seat.

When a local parish priest finds himself in possession of some terrible footage in a quiet English village, a situation develops that sets tragic events in motion which reach all the way around the world. Simultaneously, a prisoner in the US is interviewed by a reporter who helps her to crack the case, and unravel the mystery. It's cerebral and extremely bingeable in a way that few other shows are.

5 Severance

2 Seasons

Severance is one of the best shows currently on TV, and it comes from the incredibly underrated Apple TV+ platform. Severance revolves around a central mystery plot which involves a company that behaves more like a cult. Within the world of Severance, the company, Lumon, is in possession of a new technology known as the severance chip, which allows people to section off a part of their mind, essentially creating a new personality who can then do secretive work.

Severance has a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The show is a spectacle, with huge reveals, and incredible intrigue. In a similar vein to Sherlock, the central characters are bright, and use their resourcefulness in order to find out what is actually going on. Though Severance leans more into the realm of sci-fi, fans of Sherlock are sure to love it.

4 Fargo

5 Seasons

Fargo is a clever anthology crime series which has a loose connection to the original Coen Brothers movie that debuted nearly 20 years earlier. The show is tense, and frequently subverts expectations in the most delightful and creative ways. Throughout the series, with each new season, a new cast and new criminal activities take center stage, but for Sherlock fans in particular, season 1 is hard to beat.

Martin Freeman stars as Lester Nygaard, an insurance salesman who finds himself in the middle of a tense situation when a contract killer comes to call. However, over the course of the season, there are some incredible reveals and twists that lead to the incredibly satisfying finale. The show is imaginative and compelling, and Freeman's performance stands out among a talented cast.

3 Dexter

8 Seasons

Sticking with the crime theme, Dexter offers another unique take on a crime series where the main character on the show is actually an extremely successful serial killer. Dexter Morgan has a lust for blood, but thanks to the careful guidance of his adoptive father, Dexter lives by a code. He only kills murderers, and only after proving for certain that they are in fact killers.

Building on this premise, Dexter is employed by the LAPD as a blood spatter analyst, which means he is often on the scene of some of the most brutal and violent crimes. Dexter does his best to live within the strict rules of Harry's code, and to try to make the city a better place by removing dangerous individuals, but the fact that he is also among their ranks makes things a lot more engaging. Like Sherlock, sometimes it's difficult to root for the hero on the screen.

2 Jonathan Creek

5 Seasons

Jonathan Creek is another series that is very aligned with the Sherlock Holmes mythos, as the hero of the show is an extremely intelligent, but reclusive individual, who solves many cases from the comfort of his own home. However, Jonathan Creek is also a magician, and he uses his various skills to aid in investigating and solving crimes.

It's a fun series, and a wonderful change to the usual dark and broody Sherlock shows.

Beyond this, the show also leans more into a comedy genre, playing out as kind of a parody to characters like Sherlock. Playing the leading role, popular British comedian, Alan Davies, is this heroic and reclusive figure. It's a fun series, and a wonderful change to the usual dark and broody Sherlock shows.

1 Interior Chinatown

1 Season

Once again incorporating comedy within the crime and mystery genre, Interior Chinatown is a wonderful mind-bending miniseries that toes the line between comedy and drama. Jimmy O. Yang stars as the primary character, a man who plays a background actor who witnesses a crime on the job. He is ed by the hilarious Ronny Chieng, and the incredible Chloe Bennet, who together create something mind-bending and brilliant.

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This series is particularly irable for the way it presents visuals and delivers information, with colorful, bright, and stylistic moments throughout. The series is a much brighter take on the crime mystery drama, but it is incredibly well-executed, and likely to prove a hit with fans of Sherlock.