According to Deadline, the Sherlock Holmes universe is preparing for another expansion with a new television project centered on Professor James Moriarty, the legendary criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Fremantle and Archery Pictures, the production company behind “Operation Mincemeat,” are developing “Moriarty,” a modern crime procedural from writers Chris Cornwell and Oliver Lansley that reimagines one of fiction’s most enduring antagonists for a contemporary audience.
A New Take on Sherlock Holmes’ Greatest Enemy
The proposed series shifts the spotlight away from Sherlock Holmes himself and toward the man long described as the “Napoleon of crime.” In this version, Moriarty is presented as a respected Professor of Criminal Psychology at Durham University who secretly controls a sophisticated criminal network operating across northern England.
The story reportedly begins when a rival organization threatens the empire Moriarty has carefully built in the shadows. Forced into an unusual strategy, he aligns himself with law enforcement by becoming a police consultant while concealing his own criminal identity. Alongside Detective Imogen Burrows, a Yorkshire investigator described as disciplined and unshakable, Moriarty navigates cases that place him dangerously close to exposure.
Moriarty first appeared in Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1893 short story “The Final Problem,” where Sherlock Holmes identified him as the hidden force behind countless crimes. Although the professor only appeared directly in a handful of Doyle’s original works, the character evolved into Holmes’ definitive archenemy through decades of adaptations, sequels, and reinterpretations across film, television, radio, and theater.
That long history has produced a wide range of performances, from Laurence Olivier’s calculating version in “The Seven Per Cent Solution” to Jared Harris in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” and Andrew Scott’s unsettlingly unpredictable take in “Sherlock.”
More recently, Moriarty has continued to appear in projects such as “Watson,” “Sherlock and Daughter,” and the recent “Young Sherlock” series. Casting for the new title has not yet been announced.