New Sherlock Holmes Spin-Off Series Focuses on His Most Dangerous Nemesis in Development

A new TV series focused on one of the most famous villains in detective fiction is now in development, and it puts James Moriarty at the center of the story.

The information comes from industry reports about the project announced by Fremantle and Archery Pictures, the production company behind films like Operation Mincemeat. The working title of the series is Moriarty, and it is being developed as a modern take on the Sherlock Holmes universe.

Unlike most Sherlock Holmes adaptations, which usually focus on the detective himself, this series shifts attention to his greatest enemy. James Moriarty is known in Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories as a criminal mastermind often described as the “Napoleon of crime.” He is highly intelligent, highly manipulative, and responsible for organizing some of the most complex criminal networks in the Holmes universe.

In this new version, Moriarty is reimagined as a professor of criminal psychology at Durham University. On the surface, he lives a quiet academic life. Behind that, however, he is secretly running a large criminal operation across the north of England. This dual identity is expected to be the core of the show.

According to the project description, the story begins when Moriarty’s hidden empire comes under threat from a rival criminal group. This forces him into an unusual position. Instead of simply fighting back as a criminal, he chooses to work with law enforcement as a consultant. The twist is that he uses police resources to destroy his enemies while keeping his true identity hidden.

The series will also introduce a new partner for Moriarty, Detective Imogen Burrows, a serious and disciplined Yorkshire detective. Together, they form a strange partnership built on necessity rather than trust. While they work together to solve crimes, Moriarty continues to operate his secret life in the background.

What makes Moriarty such a well-known figure in the Sherlock Holmes universe is not physical strength, but intelligence. In the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, he is described as Holmes’ intellectual equal, someone capable of planning crimes across multiple layers without being directly involved. This makes him one of the most dangerous characters in detective fiction.

The producers behind the new series say the goal is to explore Moriarty’s psychology in more detail. Rather than showing him only as a villain, the story will focus on how a criminal genius thinks, operates, and survives in a world built to stop people like him.

According to Fremantle, the show is designed as a “modern reinvention of the crime procedural,” with Moriarty placed at the center of a larger story about power, control, and hidden identities. The production team also noted that the character allows for a darker and more complex approach to storytelling within the Sherlock Holmes universe.

The project does not yet have a broadcaster or streaming platform attached, but it is currently being sold internationally.

Casting has not been announced, but Moriarty has been played before by actors such as Andrew Scott in the BBC series Sherlock, where he became one of the most memorable versions of the character in recent years.

The new series is still in early development, but it continues a growing trend of expanding the Sherlock Holmes world by focusing on characters who were originally in supporting or villain roles.

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