ABC Drama Actor Cast as Sherlock Holmes in CBS Drama ‘Watson’

Watson is getting its Sherlock Holmes.

The CBS drama has cast Robert Carlyle, best known for his roles in ABC’s Once Upon a Time, as well as films like Trainspotting and 28 Weeks Later, as the iconic detective for Season 2, Deadline reports.

Carlyle will be a recurring character in the series, which stars Morris Chestnut as Holmes’ longtime associate Dr. John Watson. Season 1 of Watson began in the aftermath of Holmes’ apparent death, as Watson used the money left to him by his late friend to establish a medical clinic in Pittsburgh.

There, Watson shifted his attention from solving crimes to solving medical mysteries — that is, until Holmes’ longtime nemesis, James Moriarty (Randall Park), entered the picture.

Watson and his team may have defeated Moriarty in the first season, but in Season 2, they will have to handle the unexpected return of Holmes. As the legendary detective resurfaces from his presumed grave, Watson confronts a buried secret from his past — one hidden within himself.

“We are thrilled to have the mighty Robert Carlyle join the cast of Watson in Season 2,” said Craig Sweeny, executive producer and showrunner of Watson, in a statement to Deadline. “The man has played iconic roles in projects like Trainspotting, The Full Monty and 28 Weeks Later, and now he steps into the shoes of the most iconic detective of all, Sherlock Holmes.”

“When Watson’s best friend and former partner makes a shocking reappearance in his life, Watson is forced to confront their shared past — and a secret that may lie buried within Watson’s own body,” Sweeny continued.

The showrunner previously told Deadline in January that there were no plans to bring Sherlock into the world of Watson. “If you have Watson front and center, to allow that character to shine, you definitely don’t want him competing with the most famous character in all of literature, so a very natural construction for me was to begin with the death of Holmes at Reichenbach Falls,” Sweeny said at the time,” adding that his “belief is that Holmes is gone,” but that he didn’t want to be “held to that” if the story presented itself.

In addition to Chestnut and Carlyle, Watson also stars Eve Harlow, Peter Mark Kendall, Inga Schlingmann, Ritchie Coster, and Rochelle Aytes.

Watson returns for Season 2 on Monday, Oct. 13 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.