Rafe Spall plays amnesiac Sherlock Holmes in Sky's The Death of Sherlock Holmes

Centre · 2Rafe Spall leads The Death of Sherlock Holmes, a new series that fills the gap between Holmes's apparent death at the Reichenbach Falls in 1891 and his reappearance three years later in The Adventure of the Empty House. 1 2 Centre · 2In the story, an Englishman, played by Spall, is found barely alive in an icy mountain stream by a local woman, Alma (Deleila Piasko), and her young son, Franz. When the village doctor is found murdered and villagers turn on the boy, the amnesiac stranger's powers of deduction return, and he has flashbacks to a previous life in England. 1 2 Centre · 2Spall gave the interview to Deadline at MIPCOM Cannes, where he was one of the biggest names this week. He said the amnesia premise makes the show original: "It’s a clean slate in a way." 1 2

Centre · 2Spall said he did not feel he was following earlier Holmes actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeremy Brett, Basil Rathbone and Robert Downey Jr. He added that if people think he is poor in the role, he can say it is a different Sherlock Holmes, and that he would have been more frightened had it been one of the Conan Doyle novels, which Steven Moffat adapted. 1 2 Centre · 1Spall described the series as a whodunit with flashes of Holmes's deductive powers, not based on a Conan Doyle novel. He said it was the first attempt he could think of to fill that gap in the character's life. 1 Centre · 1Piasko said the relationship between Holmes and Alma is the core of the show. She said the Englishman does not judge Alma, a single mother treated with contempt in a small village. 1

Centre · 1The series comes from creators Claudia Bluemhuber, André Küttel and Pierre Monnard. It also stars Thomas Kaschel as Dr. Watson, Christian Koerner as Mycroft Holmes and Timothy Innes as Edward Pembroke. It has six episodes and is due to premiere on Sky next year. 2 Centre · 1It is a co-production between Sky and SRF in Switzerland, Germany's ARD Degeto and the Bell Media-owned Sphere Abacus, which brought Spall to Cannes. It will air on Sky in the UK and Ireland, Switzerland and Germany, with support from FFF Bayern and Italy's IDM Film Commission. Filming took place in the Swiss and Italian Alps and in Regensburg, Bavaria. 1 Centre · 2Spall said he is also in Channel 4 drama Number 10, which ITV Studios is shopping, and plays Arthur Weasley in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series. Screen Rant says interest in Holmes remains strong, citing Henry Cavill's Enola Holmes films, continued development of Sherlock Holmes 3 and the Young Sherlock series. It notes the show has not been billed as a miniseries, which it says could allow a second season if it succeeds. 1 2