The producers of Elementary have chosen Lucy Liu to the play the female lead on the show.
Liu is considered one of the most exotically attractive women in Hollywood, and having her in your film is nearly a sure-fire recipe for success, even if the project is actually terrible. Granted, she’s not really a young starlet anymore, but obviously hasn’t lost her looks, and I imagine she still fetches a hefty price tag.
I’m not sure if casting the role of Doctor Watson as a woman was always the plan, but I think it’s entirely likely that the only reason it’s been done is to further differentiate the show from Sherlock.
We recently reported that the creators of Elementary were in hot water with the BBC, who claim CBS has stolen the idea for a show about a modern day Sherlock Holmes from their program, Sherlock, which is about Holmes in 201x London. Elementary is about Holmes in 201x New York City.
The production further distinguishes itself by turning Holmes’ character, who will be played by Jonny Lee Miller, into a recovering addict. Frankly, that strikes very close to House M.D., a (loose) Sherlock Holmes adaptation set in a hospital diagnostics wing, which is finishing up a long run on Fox this season.
The only details we have so far about Doctor Joan Watson is that she’s a former surgeon. I just hope that the show doesn’t introduce a romantic subplot between the detective and his assistant.
Elementary will begin filming the pilot soon. If everything remains on schedule, we’ll see the show’s debut this fall.
