Sherlock: Series Two

Hartswood Films’ multi-award winning Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, returns to the BBC for an eagerly awaited second series of three 90-minute films: A Scandal In Belgravia, The Hounds Of Baskerville and The Reichenbach Fall. The first episode aired on BBC One on New Years Day 2012. The second transmitted on the 8th of January and the third and final installment of this series was broadcast on Sunday the 15th. Find out more on the BBC’s Sherlock page.

Cast

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as John Watson, Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson, Rupert Graves as Detective Inspector Lestrade, Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper and Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty.

Produced by

Episodes one and two Sue Vertue, Episode three Elaine Cameron

Executive producer(s)

Beryl Vertue, Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Bethan Jones, Sue Vertue (Episode three)

Written by

Mark Gatiss, Stephen Thompson, Steven Moffat

Directed by

Episodes one and two Paul McGuigan, Episode three Toby Haynes

Channel

BBC One

First transmitted

1 January 2012

Series

This, the second series, has three episodes: A Scandal In Belgravia, The Hounds Of Baskerville, and The Reichenbach Fall

Duration

90 mins per episode

Press comments

“Five Stars… Pick of the Day… So far in the previous five superb episodes of Sherlock Holmes [sic], we’ve only had brief glimpses of his enemy, Moriarty. That all changes with this stunning series finale, as he takes centre stage, and Andrew Scott’s performance as the demented villain soars even more joyously over the top… Totally beguiling wondrousness from start to finish.” Heat, 14th January 2012

“Delivers in spades… The acrobatic plot is breathtaking, but the real highlight comes when the bitter enemies sit down together to talk…” TV Guide, 14th January 2012

“Conan Doyle’s legend has been shot into a present-day London that is so sharp and stylish it is positively futuristic… A Scandal In Belgravia was almost dazzlingly, brilliant, brimming with modern-day references (Twitter, blogs etc), super-slick editing and dialogue fizzing with wit… Benedict Cumberbatch is a superbly flamboyant Holmes… His instinctive observations about mere passers-by… are particularly delicious… As television goes, Sherlock is thrilling, threatening, stirring, glamorous, almost greedy.” The Mirror, 9th January 2012

“Five out of five stars… Sherlock is a Rolls-Royce of a popular entertainment, beautifully engineered and beautifully finished. The doors close with a perfect thunk every time and a loose thread is unthinkable…

“And where does one start, again? With the teasing eroticism of Sherlock and Irene’s affair of the mind? With the way that Moffat gets some real poignancy and longing into a story so glossily fantastical? With the fact that barely a minute passes without a line that’s worth making a note of? Or the fact that, in addition to lovely performances and great writing, the whole thing is filmed with such invention? What a way to start the year.” The Independent, 2 January 2012

“Four and a half stars out of five… Shall we just start with a list of things that were delicious about Sherlock (BBC One)… We’ll be lucky if there’s a drama that’s as much fun all year, so explaining that it was good, seems somehow superfluous (or “Boring,” as Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes might put it).” The Daily Telegraph, 2 January 2012

“…it fizzes down like a glass of New Year bubbly, full of wit and sparkle.” The Guardian, 2 January 2012

“Sherlock came bouncing onto our screens last night and managed, in what seemed like ten minutes but was more like a couple of hours, to bring us more wit, visual invention, suspense and romance than we’re likely to see for the rest of the year – or until the second of this three-part series, anyway.” Huffington Post, 2 January 2012

“Five out of five stars… It’s only day one of 2012, and already Sherlock looks like being the highlight of the TV year. It’s difficult to describe just how good A Scandal in Belgravia is without descending into gibbering hyperbole.” Cult Box, 1 January 2012

“…aficionados need only hang on until the New Year, however, for the return of Sherlock, BBC’s witty and deeply knowledgeable reworking of the stories, and an overnight sensation when first secreened last year…. Cumberbatch and Freeman are beautifully cast, their characters correlating with the personalities of the actors (Freeman laid back and down to earth; Cumberbatch more garrulous and intellectual)…” The Independent, 9 December 2011

“It feels like we’ve been waiting for it for ages, but the return of the BBC’s Sherlock is now only a couple of weeks away. The transmission date for episode one of the new three-part run has been locked in for January 1st 2012 at 8.10pm, and as our spoiler-free review reports, it’s an absolutely wonderful way to kick off the new year.

“Things start off this time around with The Scandal In Belgravia (written by Steven Moffat), followed by The Hounds Of Baskerville (penned by Mark Gatiss) and wrapping up with The Reichenbach Fall (for which Steve Thompson is on scribing duties).” Den Of Geek, 8 December 2011

Awards

See the full list of Sherlock’s Awards from Series One

Awards from 2012

Distributor

BBC Worldwide in Australia, Austria, BBC Prime, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Korea Republic, Latin America, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, UK Gold, UK Inflight, USA, Yugoslavia, BBC America.