Copyright Screen Rant
Sherlock Holmes has inspired many characters, and some even attempted to be the next Holmes, but they ended up failing. Although there are many great detective TV shows, and some of them have made it to the list of the best TV shows of all time, many of them are either adaptations of Sherlock Holmes or were heavily inspired by him. Taking inspiration from Sherlock Holmes doesn’t mean that the character has to be like him, but there have been some TV shows that made it quite obvious. Some TV detectives have tried to be the next Sherlock Holmes in sometimes very obvious ways, and while they failed at that, they are great characters on their own. Shawn Spencer Psych Psych is a detective comedy-drama show created by Steve Franks. Psych stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, who works as a crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department. Spencer poses as a psychic thanks to his photographic memory and incredible observational skills, which he also uses to solve different crimes. Spencer starts his own psychic detective agency, Psych, through which he helps the police. Accompanying Spencer is his best friend Gus (Dulé Hill), a highly intelligent man who reluctantly agrees to become Spencer’s partner. The similarities with Sherlock Holmes are pretty evident, which is a large part of why he couldn’t replace the Great Detective. However, Spencer and Psych have a big difference, and that’s their sense of humor, as Holmes isn’t really a comedic character. Lucifer Morningstar Lucifer Lucifer gave its Biblical title character a twist that made him fit in the modern world. Developed by Tom Kapinos and based on the character of the same name from DC Comics, Lucifer follows the title character (Tom Ellis), who decides to leave Hell and moves to Los Angeles, where he runs his own nightclub. After finding himself in the middle of a murder investigation, Lucifer uses his unique charm and power to get people to confess their deepest desires to him to solve the mystery. Lucifer then accepts an invitation to work as a police consultant, while he also deals with supernatural situations linked to his family. This version of Lucifer is as if Sherlock Holmes had powers, an unbelievable charm, and was more sociable. As Lucifer developed, the character was less like a superpowered Holmes and more his own character, with his own problems, abilities, and dynamics with other characters. Cal Lightman Lie to Me Lie to Me is a crime drama series created by Samuel Baum. Lie to Me follows Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), a body language expert, especially in microexpressions, and founder of The Lightman Group. This is a private company that assists investigations of local and federal law enforcement through applied psychology. Thanks to his expertise, Lightman can get the truth out of the suspects, though this can get intense sometimes. Lightman’s use of psychology and the reading of microexpressions is reminiscent of Holmes’ observation and deductive skills, but Lightman has a more complex past than Holmes, and carries a lot of trauma that led him to become an expert in his field of choice. Daniel Pierce Perception Perception is a crime drama TV series created by Kenneth Biller and Mike Sussman. Perception follows Daniel Pierce (Eric McCormack), an eccentric neuropsychiatrist enlisted by the FBI to assist on some of its most complex cases. Accompanying Pierce are his former student, Katherine (Rachael Leigh Cook), and his teaching assistant, Max (Arjay Smith). There’s also Natalie (Kelly Rowan), who, unlike Katherine and Max, is Pierce’s imaginary best friend and adviser, as Pierce has schizophrenia. Pierce’s hallucinations sometimes come in handy during the investigations, as he can pick on subtle clues that the rest can’t. What sets Pierce apart from Sherlock Holmes is that he is officially diagnosed with schizophrenia, while Holmes’ mental health has been a topic of debate for years, but there’s no canon diagnosis. Pierce and Holmes are very similar in their skills and jobs, but Pierce has the bonus of being a teacher and having closer relationships than Holmes. Carrie Wells Unforgettable Unforgettable is a police procedural crime drama based on J. Robert Lennon’s short story “The Rememberer.” Unforgettable introduces the audience to Carrie Wells (Poppy Montgomery), a former Syracuse police detective. Wells has hyperthymesia, a rare medical condition that allows her to remember numerous experiences in vivid detail. Thanks to it, Wells can remember everything she has seen or heard, which is very useful in her investigations. At the beginning of Unforgettable, Wells reluctantly joins the New York City Police Department’s Queens homicide unit after her former boyfriend and partner, Lt. Al Burns (Dylan Walsh), asks her for help. In addition to the cases they are assigned to, Wells is trying to solve a personal mystery, as the one thing she can’t remember is who murdered her sister when they were young. Wells’ condition is reminiscent of Holmes’ unbelievable memory and observation skills, but like most characters on this list, she has a heavier emotional baggage than Holmes. Patrick Jane The Mentalist The Mentalist is a procedural drama TV series created by Bruno Heller. The Mentalist centers on Patrick Jane (Simon Baker), a once successful psychic medium who now works as an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation. However, Jane isn’t really a psychic – he simply uses his highly developed observational skills to “read” people. Jane agrees to join the CBI so he can track down a serial killer known as Red John, who murdered his wife and daughter. Patrick Jane is a combination of Sherlock Holmes and a con artist, but unlike the Great Detective, he has a specific goal in mind when doing what he does – and he has the charm that Holmes might have wanted to have. Spencer Reid Criminal Minds Perhaps one of the most obvious attempts at a new and modern Sherlock Holmes is Criminal Minds’ Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler). Created by Jeff Davis, Criminal Minds follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. Among them is Dr. Spencer Reid, an expert on geographic profiling. Reid is a genius, with Ph.D.s in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering, and he later works on a B.A. in philosophy. Reid also has photographic memory, and all of these skills and knowledge make him one of the most valuable and important members of the BAU. Throughout Criminal Minds, Reid is portrayed as autistic, which is why he doesn’t always excel in his social skills. All this makes him very similar to Sherlock Holmes, both being geniuses with the same expertise, abilities, and knowledge, but with slightly different jobs, social skills, and very different backgrounds. Spencer Reid is one of the most popular and beloved characters from Criminal Minds and detective shows in general, thanks to his authenticity, quirks, and Gubler’s natural charm. Adrian Monk Monk Monk is a mystery comedy-drama TV show created by Andy Breckman, and its main character is private investigator Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub). Monk was a homicide investigator until the death of his wife, Trudy, which heavily impacted his obsessive-compulsive disorder to the point where he couldn’t continue working. Some time later, with the help of his nurse and assistant, Sharona (Bitty Schram), Monk begins to work as a private detective and consultant for the police. In addition to helping them solve different crimes, Monk continues to investigate Trudy’s murder. On top of all this, Monk also has multiple phobias, which sometimes interfere with his work.
