[Editor’s note: The following contains major spoilers for the finale of Watson.]

Summary

In the first season of the CBS series ‘Watson,’ James Moriarty’s calculated and dangerous nature loomed over everything, leading to a satisfying face-off with Dr. John Watson.

The finale brought the team together to fight for two of their own, with twists and a shocking conclusion.

Morris Chestnut discussed wanting to delve deeper into Watson’s past and teased what’s to come in Season 2.

The finale of the CBS series Watson put the team directly at the center of the case, with Stephens and Adam Croft (Peter Mark Kendall) under attack from Moriarty (Randall Park) and John Watson (Morris Chestnut), along with Sasha (Inga Schlingmann) and Ingrid (Eve Harlow), left trying to find the right answers to save them both. With only one vial of antidote available and two lives hanging in the balance, secrets came out, Watson finally had a long-awaited face-off with Moriarty, and questions were left about what could come next.
Over the course of the first season, Watson was trying to come to terms with the death of his best friend Sherlock Holmes without realizing that James Moriarty was pulling the strings the entire time, having others do his bidding. Other Holmesian characters like Irene Adler (Whoopie Van Raam) and Detective Lestrade (Rachel Hayward) left their mark while keeping the door open for a possible return.
During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Chestnut discussed jam-packing each episode of Season 1 but still having so much more to explore in Season 2, wanting to dig deeper into Watson’s past, how much insight he has into the second season, the complications of having such a big case involving the twins, bringing Morarity’s story to a shocking conclusion, how he felt about his character crossing the line, wanting more of Lestrade, his curiosity about what will happen with Ingrid, and exploring more of Watson’s love life in the future.

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Collider: Do you feel like you accomplished everything with this season that you wanted and hoped to, or was there anything that you wanted to get to that you feel like you didn’t and that will have to carry over to Season 2?
MORRIS CHESTNUT: I think Craig [Sweeny] has done a tremendous job in jam-packing each episode with a lot of different storylines and elements to drive the stories. I feel like we’ve done a great job with that. I feel like there’s still so much that we can explore, just in terms of Watson and the relationships and, of course, Sherlock. We’re going to have a lot to explore in Season 2.
Do you feel like there are personal aspects of your character that you want to learn about or lean more into?
CHESTNUT: I definitely want to, and I think we may be doing it in Season 2, lean more into Watson’s past, in terms of what makes him tick. How did Watson become Watson and make the choices and do the things that he does?
Morris Chestnut Has Only Gotten a Glimpse Into What Season 2 of ‘Watson’ Might Be

“We’ve had preliminary conversations, but nothing too concrete yet.”

Do you have a pretty good sense of what Season 2 will be? Do you get little bits of information?
CHESTNUT: It’s the incredible mind of Craig Sweeney. I think I’m going to be having a conversation with him in the next couple of weeks or so, but I’m not really sure yet. We’ve had preliminary conversations, but nothing too concrete yet. Looking back on Season 1, when I’ve asked questions, Craig does keep some things very close to the vest, and I don’t mind that. I like reading the script and being surprised and finding out and discovering things while I’m reading it. That makes it more interesting.
What was it like to have a final case that really involved the team, but also happened to involve the most complicated members of the team, with the twins? How challenging was it to have a storyline like that, that was so dependent on them, when having them be in so many scenes together has to make everything more complicated?
CHESTNUT: I love Peter [Mark Kendall]. He did a tremendous job with the characters, but it definitely adds a lot of extra time to filming, but I think the payoff is great. It was great to have the team have to solve the mystery of one of our own, and then have to make a very serious decision in some very intense times was great. It was fun to play.
Were you surprised about the decision that was made? How did you feel about the way that all played out?
CHESTNUT: I thought it made for some very interesting television. To have to make a decision like that, we had some idea how it would turn out, but we didn’t know it would turn out the way things turned out. I thought it was great television. It was really fun to play on set because, as a cast, we were all pretty invested in all the characters, and we actually didn’t know what was going to happen. The surprise element and the secret that Craig was holding made it more interesting.
What was it like to watch Peter Mark Kendall, over the course of the season, but specifically in the last couple of episodes?
CHESTNUT: I’ve said it from the beginning, Peter should be nominated for an Emmy because it’s such a challenging assignment that he had and he did an incredible job with these two characters. We’ve come to really care for them and want to see them win. He just did an incredible job with it.

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The statement, “Moriarty won’t kill people, he’ll kill the right people,” really sums up that character. He’s someone who was so calculated, which made him dangerous. What was it like to have that looming over the whole season, and then to get some of those answers in the finale?
CHESTNUT: It was a great payoff. Craig really crafted the entire season well. Reading the script each week, having those discoveries, and him not telling me exactly what was going to happen, was just so fun. I was just so invested, having that Moriarty aspect looming overhead. He was there physically, he was there mentally, he was there psychologically with the drugs, and he was ever so present throughout the whole season. For me, realizing and understanding, as a character, how he’s affected me the whole time, it was good to finally be in the same room with him.
Morris Chestnut Didn’t Know if Watson and Moriarty Would Have a Face-Off Before the End of the Season

“I didn’t ask.”

Image via CBS

Did you know that you were going to get that ultimate face-off between Watson and Moriarty? Do you feel like that was inevitable?
CHESTNUT: No, I didn’t know that I was going to get the face-off. I didn’t know how it was going to end. Craig was keeping everything secret, and I didn’t ask. I didn’t say, “What’s going to happen? How is it going to end?” I was just reading the scripts as they came. Once the season was going, focusing on each episode was pretty much all the bandwidth I had because there was so much stuff happening in each episode.
Watson never really gets to learn what Moriarty’s motives are. Even if he had actually told him, you’d still wonder if it was the truth. Is there still a way to get any of those answers? Is Moriarty really gone?
CHESTNUT: That’s a great question. I need to have you on the phone when I call Craig. Some of the stuff that Craig told me is a very interesting take that he wants to explore next season for a couple storylines. I think the Moriarty thing is done, but I’m not 100% sure because he’s had a lot of people acting on his behalf. When you have people acting on your behalf, some people take it a little bit further than you may expect them to. So, I’m not really sure. He could be gone, but I think he may still be around in other ways.
How should we feel about Watson’s actions toward Moriarty? How did you feel about it? How do you think viewers will feel about it?
CHESTNUT: That was tough. Once you’ve crossed the line with something like that and someone knows it, are you ever really free from having what you’ve done be discovered? There’s a Hippocratic oath that doctors take and he broke that oath. In addition to that, did he like it? How did it feel? There are so many questions that will be explored in Season 2. He might be a little justified, but it’s not really something he could explain in a court of law.

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You guys brought other characters from the Sherlock Holmes mythology into this season, with Lestrade and Irene Adler. What did you most enjoy about bringing those well-known characters into the mix, but figuring out what this version of them would be?
CHESTNUT: That was fun for me. I love to see the people they cast in those roles and the dynamic we have with those relationships. I believe Lestrade will be making some more appearances in Season 2. We’re going to have a pretty good dynamic. So, I’m looking forward to that.
Morris Chestnut Wants to Know What Will Happen With Ingrid in Season 2 of ‘Watson’

“Her character is one of my favorites.”

Image via CBS

As you learned the character reveals involving Ingrid, what was your reaction to that? How did you feel about her, her choices, and her actions?
CHESTNUT: Her character is one of my favorites. I think that she’s doing an incredible job. I love the mystery, the darkness, the secrets, and everything that she’s hiding. Her reveals were some of the best parts of the season. She’s doing an incredible job. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next season.
You also got a love interest at the end of this season. Will we see more of that?
CHESTNUT: Tika Sumpter played Laila, the love interest, and I think we will be seeing more of her in Season 2. We’re happy to have her. She did a great job. Her character is great, and I love the dynamic that’s going to happen. I’m not sure if John Watson is quite over Mary. I don’t know if he ever will be. But it’s going to be interesting to see how he handles that dynamic in his life.

Watson

Release Date

January 26, 2025

Network

CBS

Showrunner

Craig Sweeny

Directors

Larry Teng

Writers

Craig Sweeny

Watson airs on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+. Check out the finale trailer: