Summary

• Sherlock Holmes has had a lasting influence on television, inspiring characters like Shawn Spencer, The Professor, Eliza Simpson, and more.
• These characters share traits with Holmes, such as powers of deduction and a detached personality, while still bringing their own unique spin to the role.
• Whether it's through parody, adaptation, or direct inspiration, Holmes' legacy and core characteristics continue to shine through in various television icons.

Sherlock Holmes himself has led numerous movies and TV shows, the detective's legacy also persists on-screen as a strong influence on various television icons. Not all of these characters have been directly linked to Holmes, but they possess an understanding of the key facets of his personality established by Conan Doyle. Bringing Holmes forward in time or halfway across the world causes the character to change as a result of his new surroundings, but the undeniable core of Conan Doyle's detective still shines through.

Sherlock Holmes first appears to readers as a solitary genius, mostly shut off from society but occasionally whisking Dr. Watson away to tackle a case that nobody else can solve. His powers of deduction and his infallible memory combine to make him London's greatest super-sleuth. Due to Holmes' vast intellect, he sees everyday matters like gossip as being too tedious for him, which often means he fails to form close social bonds with people. Such traits are essential to any parody of the detective, to which many Sherlock Holmes-inspired television characters have adhered.

10 Shawn Spencer (Psych)

Psych's Shawn Spencer manages to convince the police that he possesses psychic powers that he can use to fight crime, but really his strengths lie in careful observation and rational deductions. His problem-solving abilities resemble Sherlock Holmes, even if his array of wacky voices and his constant irritation of his often-nicknamed partner Gus do not. Shawn is also easily distracted during cases if he thinks there's something more fun he could be doing, and Gus struggles to keep him on track. Dr. Watson described Holmes as basically ignorant about the world except in his area of expertise, whereas Shawn can constantly produce obscure facts out of thin air.

9 The Professor (Money Heist)

The Professor offers a glimpse of how Sherlock Holmes might operate if he were on the other side of the law. In his elaborate plans to steal from the Spanish Royal Mint and the Bank of Spain, he prepares for every possible eventuality, no matter how unlikely. As a form of self-preservation, Money Heist's Professor always remains one step ahead of everyone, even his closest allies. Like Holmes, The Professor's constant ruminations form a layer of detachment from his everyday surroundings, until he falls for one of the inspectors tasked with tracking him down. Ultimately, his deep care for his team separates him from Holmes, but the two men share a calculated approach to their work.

8 Eliza Simpson (The Simpsons)

Sherlock Holmes' iconic deerstalker cap and notable quotes make him a figure rife for parody. Even when Conan Doyle was still writing new stories, newspapers were filled with humorous send-ups of his famous detective, and the jokes have persisted to this day. In a segment from one of The Simpsons' Halloween-themed "Treehouse of Horror" specials, Lisa Simpson takes on the parodic role of Holmes with her sidekick Dr. Bartson. Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama, Stewie Griffin from Family Guy, and Spongebob Squarepants are just some of the countless other cartoon characters to have pulled out a magnifying glass and spent a TV episode spoofing Sherlock Holmes.

7 Jimmy Kudo (Case Closed)

Sherlock Holmes never traveled to Japan, but certain manga series have nonetheless taken inspiration from the iconic character. Case Closed is just one example of this phenomenon. High school detective Jimmy Kudo's catchphrase, "There is always only one truth," sounds like it has been pulled directly from the school of Holmes. It's also no coincidence that when Kudo has to take a pseudonym to obscure his identity, his first name is Conan, named for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Even as a teenager, Kudo is widely regarded as a brilliant detective, who often takes on cases that have stumped Tokyo's police force. This echoes Holmes' fractious working relationship with Inspector Lestrade.

6 Rust Cohle (True Detective)

True Detective season 1 paired a world-weary pessimist with an honest pragmatist. It certainly wasn't the first show to do so, but the onscreen chemistry between Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey propelled an already excellent script to the next level. McConaughey's character Rust Cohle deals with addiction, much like Sherlock Holmes, but he remains lazer-focused on his case, turning over every shred of evidence with meticulous detail. Cohle is so concentrated on the facts that he barely flinches when he witnesses the gruesome display of the victim's body. With Jodie Foster starring in True Detective season 4, the show is yet to match its Holmes-influenced first outing.

5 Dr. Temperance Brennan (Bones)

Coupled with FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, Bones' Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who uses her expert knowledge to help in murder investigations. She prizes objectivity and truth above all else, often to the detriment of her personal relationships. Like Holmes, her genius can be off-putting, but her true friends learn to overlook her ignorance about social niceties. Brennan's lack of social skills links back to her troubled childhood. Likewise, Holmes endured an antagonistic relationship with his brother Mycroft, partially explaining his disdain for authority and his relative seclusion. Eventually, the Bones character's relationship with Booth softens her exterior, just as Watson finds a way to connect with Holmes.

4 Patrick Jane (The Mentalist)

The Mentalist's Patrick Jane often comes across as pretty light-hearted for a man who's trying to avenge the death of his wife and daughter. Jane used to perform as a phony psychic, using his impressive knack for deduction to swindle his unsuspecting audience, but he redirected his efforts towards finding his family's killer after their ing. Neither Jane nor Holmes hesitate to cross the line of what is strictly legal if they believe it is for the greater good, but Jane's affability allows him to stay out of too much trouble. Both characters use their deductive reasoning skills as their primary weapons.

3 Adrian Monk (Monk)

Adrian Monk works as a consultant for the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) after his wife is murdered in the series Monk. The tragedy affected him deeply, and the symptoms of Monk's OCD spectrum disorder became much more pronounced as he grieved. Monk's meticulous attention to detail aids him in his investigations. Often, his obsessions with cleanliness and order help him spot when something doesn't add up in a complex case. His approach is very similar to Holmes', and both are blessed with outstanding reasoning and memory skills. Monk's unique role with the SFPD makes him an outsider, similar to how Sherlock Holmes operates with police at Scotland Yard.

2 John Luther (Luther)

Two of the BBC's most popular dramas, Luther and Sherlock have a lot in common. Both shows follow London-based detectives as their crime-solving powers get them into increasingly perilous situations. John Luther, played by Idris Elba, is guided by his own moral com, and often has to by the proper legal proceedings to make sure that the criminals he pursues are brought to justice. He can also handle himself in a fight, echoing Sherlock Holmes' experiences in many of the original stories as a fantastic boxer. Luther succeeds not only in its depiction of the eponymous detective, but its seedy version of London also mirrors Conan Doyle's writing.

1 Dr. Gregory House (House)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based much of Sherlock Holmes' personality on a Scottish surgeon, and House returns the character to these medical roots. Dr. House is a self-obsessed genius whose primary interest lies in uncovering the truth, but even some of his smaller character quirks mimic Holmes. Both men play music to help stimulate their thinking processes, and both live at house number 221B. When dropping the silent "L" in Holmes, the name is left with a synonym for "House." Gregory House and Sherlock Holmes even have a best friend with the initials "J.W." (Dr. James Wilson and Dr. John Watson), who both act as a moral conscience for their narcissistic friends.