21st-century Sleuthing Is So Elementary! Sherlock On MASTERPIECE Mystery!

Sundays, October 24, 31, and November 7, 2010 at 9pm on PBS

London 2010. Sherlock Holmes-loner, oddball, genius. John Watson-doctor, soldier, war hero. Two men who couldn't be more different-united by ADVENTURE! Blowing away the fog of the Victorian era, the world's most famous detective Sherlock-enters the 21st century in a thrilling update of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement, The Last Enemy) in the title role, Sherlock premieres with three criminally clever whodunits on MASTERPIECE MYSTERY!, on Sundays, October 24, 31, and November 7, 2010 at 9pm ET on PBS.

Created by the celebrated story-telling team of Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Coupling) and Mark Gatiss (Doctor Who, The League of Gentlemen), Sherlock co-stars Martin Freeman (The Office UK, Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy) as Dr. John Watson, Holmes's best (and only!) friend. Just as in the Conan Doyle original, John is a retired army doctor, wounded during service in Afghanistan. A chance encounter brings him into the strange and thrilling world of Sherlock Holmes whose cases he begins to write up-as online blogs.

The UK press greeted the new Sherlock with open arms and rave reviews: "Sherlock is a triumph, witty and knowing, without ever undercutting the flair and dazzle of the original," wrote The Independent. "Meet the new Sherlock," announced The Daily Telegraph, "an electrifying sociopath." And The Times (London) proclaimed, "Sherlock makes every other crime caper on television look thin."

This is a brand new Sherlock made by people who love the original stories, so each adventure is packed full of details, places, idiosyncrasies, plot elements, phrases, each with its own 21st-century twist. For example, the first episode, "A Study in Pink," includes the clue, "Rache," which was pivotal in the first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, published in 1887. But beware! Each mystery is fiendishly new.

The cast also features Rupert Graves (The Forsyte Saga, God on Trial) as Inspector Lestrade-the best Scotland Yard cop there is, but a man wise enough to know when to call in the consulting detective his staff call "freak."

In an age of forensic detection, it is still Sherlock's brilliant brain and powers of deduction which crack the following baffling cases:

A Study in Pink-Sunday, October 24, 2010, 9 to 10:30pm ET on PBS
A wave of suicides grips London, but Sherlock suspects the victims are not, as the police believe, voluntarily swallowing poison capsules. "We've got ourselves a serial killer," he declares. "I love those!" With his newfound friend and flat mate, John Watson, he seizes on the minute details of the most recent victim, a lady dressed entirely in pink, to reveal a mastermind with the perfect cover-and a diabolical motive. But can Sherlock escape becoming the next "suicide"?

The Blind Banker-Sunday, October 31, 2010, 9 to 10:30pm on PBS
A banker and a journalist recently returned from the Far East are both shot dead by a killer who can seemingly walk through walls. Sherlock and John follow the trail to London's Chinatown, where an ancient Chinese puzzle, an antiquities curator on the run, and a mysterious book that everyone in London seems to own hold the solution to the murders. Meanwhile, John's new love interest finds herself caught in the middle of a very memorable date!

The Great Game-Sunday, November 7, 2010, 9 to 10:30pm ET on PBS
Sherlock pits his wits against a devilishly clever bomber, who straps explosives to innocent people and has them call the detective with a series of baffling mysteries to solve. A twenty-year-old murder; a blood-soaked car; a lost painting worth millions of dollars-it's just the kind of adventure our hero relishes, but who is the evil genius behind this deadly game?

Sherlock is a Hartswood Films Production for BBC Wales, co-produced with MASTERPIECE. It was created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. The screenwriters are Steven Moffat (A Study in Pink), Steve Thompson (The Blind Banker), and Mark Gatiss (The Great Game). The directors are Paul McGuigan (A Study in Pink, The Great Game) and Euros Lyn (The Blind Banker). The series producer
is Sue Vertue. The executive producers are Beryl Vertue, Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, and Rebecca Eaton for MASTERPIECE on PBS.

MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston. Rebecca Eaton is executive producer.