Moriarty: New Villain-Centric Crime Procedural in Development

Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes in four novels and 56 short stories. The character James Moriarty, introduced as Holmes’s arch-nemesis, has been portrayed by Andrew Scott, Ralph Fiennes, Jared Harris, Eric Porter and Dónal Finn in recent adaptations such as Prime Video’s *Young Sherlock* and CBS’s *Watson*. Archery Pictures, founded in 2014, has produced titles including *Operation Mincemeat*, Netflix’s *Fate: The Winx Saga* and *Is This Thing On?*.

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Fremantle and Archery Pictures are developing a series, working title *Moriarty*, as a modern crime procedural centered on the villain. Writers Chris Cornwell and Oliver Lansley craft a narrative in which Moriarty, a Durham University professor of criminal psychology, secretly runs sophisticated crimes in northern England. A rival criminal forces him to become a police consultant alongside Yorkshire detective Imogen Burrows, while concealing his identity. The project is produced by Fremantle and Archery; it is being shopped worldwide with no network or casting announced.

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Kris Thykier, founder of Archery Pictures, said the series will explore the psychology of villainy through a character-driven spin-off that shows what it takes to be a criminal genius. Rebecca Dundon, senior vice-president of scripted content at Fremantle, described the project as having strong commercial potential and reviving an elusive Sherlock character, positioning it as a returning franchise.

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• “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.” — Kris Thykier, Founder, Archery Pictures

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• “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.” — Rebecca Dundon, SVP Scripted Content, Fremantle

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• 2026 – Announcement of the *Moriarty* series.

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By placing Moriarty at the narrative center, the series offers a fresh villain perspective that could broaden the Sherlock brand, attract viewers drawn to morally complex protagonists, and generate a new commercial franchise focused on criminal psychology.

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No network, release date, or casting for the lead role has been disclosed, leaving the production schedule uncertain and raising questions about distribution and timeline.

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Fremantle and Archery will market the series globally, pursue a distribution partner, and begin casting and pre-production in the coming months, aiming for an international rollout.

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