Prime Video’s New Guy Ritchie Sherlock Show Tops the Benedict Cumberbatch Series in 1 Major Way

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Dónal Finn as James Moriarty standing next to Hero Fiennes Tiffin as Sherlock Holmes in Young Sherlock

Published Mar 10, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.

Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic deerstalker-wearing, crime-solving Sherlock Holmes is the stuff of literary legend. Like any great novelized tale, the stories have been adapted into many different forms, from the antics of Sherlock's teen sister in Netflix's Enola Holmes to the modern-day twist applied in Steven Moffat's Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Now, following his previous work with the IP in a pair of popular blockbusters, Guy Ritchie is back, and this time he's adapting an adaptation.

Based on the young adult thriller novel series Young Sherlock Holmes by Andrew Lane, Young Sherlock made its Prime Video debut on March 4 and has instantly shot to the top of the streaming charts. Starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin as the titular adolescent and featuring a cast including Natascha McElhone, Joseph Fiennes, Dónal Finn, Max Irons, and Colin Firth, the series is created by Matthew Parkhill and features Ritchie in the director's chair. A synopsis for the series reads:

"As a 19-year-old at Oxford University, Sherlock Holmes is not yet the master detective he grows up to be. He is raw and unfiltered, and he lacks discipline. A murder at Oxford puts Holmes's freedom at risk, and he sets out to solve his first murder mystery that leads him to a global-level conspiracy."

Following the show's debut, reviews from worldwide publications and general audiences came flooding in, and the results are finally settling. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Young Sherlock boasts a strong critics' score of 84% at the time of writing, putting the show slightly higher than the aforementioned Cumberbatch-led series that helped popularize the original work to a new generation of viewers in the 2010s, which holds a 78% rating.

'Young Sherlock' Is a Refreshing Take on a Popular Story

Max Irons as Mycroft Holmes standing outside with Natascha McElhone as his mother in Young Sherlock

Among the many positive critics' reviews of Young Sherlock is that of Therese Lacson, who awarded the series an 8/10 in her review for Collider. "By the end of the season, it's hard not to imagine where the next mystery will lead Sherlock and his friends," Lacson wrote, adding, "The characters have all evolved, and it almost feels like the chessboard is set for a game years down the line, but what's for sure is that Young Sherlock has a refreshing and unique take on the famous detective, one that breaks with tradition in a way that is determined to keep you on your toes."

Young Sherlock is streaming on Prime Video. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.