Sherlock Holmes fans rejoice, as a new, modern-day series focusing on the famed detective's main antagonist, villain James Moriarty, is in the works. Zeroing in on Sherlock's arch-nemesis created by author Arthur Conan Doyle, the upcoming series will follow Moriarty as he goes up against a rival criminal while keeping his identity hidden.
The new series, with the working title of Moriarty, has been described as a "modern reinvention of the crime procedural, based on the most famous villain in all of detective fiction" (via Deadline).
Moving the action from London to the North of England, the procedural follows Moriarty, a Professor of Criminal Psychology at Durham University who leads a secret double life as a criminal mastermind.
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When a rival threatens his underground empire, Moriarty joins the police as a consultant, working relentlessly to unmask his competitor while keeping his true identity hidden. Moriarity is paired with Imogen Burrows, a stoic Yorkshire detective, but he soon realises that the real threat isn't the rival criminal he's trying to stop.
There's no word yet on who is to play the iconic villain. Moriarty was previously portrayed by Andrew Scott in BBC series Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the eponymous detective role.
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Moriarty has also been played by the likes of Ralph Fiennes, Jared Harris, Dougray Scott, Eric Porter and Dónal Finn in different projects across the last four decades.
Produced by Fremantle and Operation Mincemeat and Is This Thing On? producer Archery Pictures, Moriarty is written by Chris Cornwell and Oliver Lansley. The project isn't attached to a network at the moment.
Archery founder Kris Thykier said: "We are thrilled to be working with Fremantle to bring to life the original and character-driven spin-off from the Sherlock Holmes universe that Chris Cornwell has created. Moriarty will show audiences what it takes to be a criminal genius, combining genre thrills with a playful, dark, and thrilling dive into the psychology of villainy."
Rebecca Dundon, SVP Scripted Content at Fremantle, added: "We've been looking for a project to work with Archery on for a while and when Kris brought this to us, we instantly saw huge potential for a commercial, returning franchise that brings to life one of the more allusive characters in the Sherlock world."
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
