The Irregulars: A Mysterious Spin-off

Before being accused of any bias, I must mention that this series debuted at the end of March and was promptly canceled in May. We get the first appearance of Watson about 15 minutes into episode 1: An Unkindness in London. This episode was definitely unkind in its depiction of Watson, a character whose recent iterations have been just as colorful as Sherlock himself. Instead of a charismatic Watson, or even a mysterious Watson, we get a short cameo of a stern man in need of information. 

Watson promises to pay Bea in exchange for information on a mysterious case involving missing babies. He leverages his wealth against Bea’s poverty and has The Irregulars do the grunt work of the investigation. We also get a glimpse of what appears to be an ill Sherlock at the home where Bea meets Watson. It becomes painfully apparent by the end of the first episode that every team member of The Irregulars is a one-dimensional archetype. 

The team is made up of fearless leader Bea, Billy the fighter, Spike the comedic relief, Leopold the resourceful one, and Darci the wildcard. The only thing that kept me awake through the first episode was the gruesomeness of the case at hand. The shock value of killer, eye-gouging crows faded pretty quickly, leaving just the team dynamic to carry the rest of the episode. Rory McCann of Game of Thrones plays a great villain as the Bird Master in Episode 1. 

As the series progresses, the cases get even more morbid, and the supernatural theme creeps its way in until it seizes the entire show. It builds up to eventually include a portal that will bring monsters to London called “the rip”. Who better to help stave off the apocalypse than a few street kids from London, a rich kid, and Watson? Despite a decent special effects budget, it was hard to get invested in the main characters. Even in the final episode, as the characters were facing their worst fears, there just wasn’t any emotional attachment for me after an entire series.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories have survived for centuries, but Sherlock and Watson were always the focal point of whatever mystery they were solving. Even Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s comedic versions of the characters stuck to the relationship and dynamic between the two characters to drive the narrative. No matter how interesting the case, we’ve become so dependent on the duo that it seems anything short of the norm falls flat. 

If you were looking for a series that could fit into the Sherlock canon and enrich the mythos, this isn’t the show for you. If you want a completely new experience that features some familiar characters, you can stomach The Irregulars. It’s no mystery as to why this series was canceled after a single season. This could be due to the high expectations we have for anything in the Sherlock universe, but alas, all good things must come to an end, and all bad things must end even sooner. Good riddance to The Irregulars and any other Sherlock spin-offs that don’t feature prime Holmes and Watson.