Reel Interview: Matthew Parkhill Talks Working with Guy Ritchie and Hero Fiennes Tiffin for Young Sherlock

Prime Video’s newest mystery series takes us back into the 1870’s where Sherlock Holmes first gains his start as a young detective. Showrunner and writer Matthew Parkhill spoke with Reel Talk and Reviews about filming Young Sherlock and the hard working cast and crew.

Young Sherlock is directed by Guy Ritchie, known for his raw humour and bold storytelling; which this series does quite well. “The first meeting I had with Guy was scheduled for 30 minutes, and we ended up talking for 3 hours,” Parkhill said about their initial collaboration for the series.

“Very quickly I realized how liberating it was,” Parkill says about working with Ritchie. “Guy is someone who loves to be in the moment with the actors. You keep playing until you find the right rhythm. The energy of his work, for me, comes about because of the energy he has at the moment.”

The series is topped with incredible performances, lead by Hero Fiennes Tiffin as young Sherlock Holmes. “Hero came into the audition and he was the first Sherlock I met,” Parkhill says about casting Tiffin. “He did his audition with that sense of wonder and innocence in the way he looks at things, and it got me excited about this Sherlock.”

The film also stars Donal Din, Zine Tseng, Joseph Fiennes, Max Irons, and Natascha McElhoneand. “You want actors who are coming to you with ideas,” Parkhill emphasizes how comfortability from the cast impacted his writing of their characters. “As you start to get to know them, you write differently. You’re putting them in a situation where they feel freedom to do their best work.”

Young Sherlock delivers on the witty adventures of a young Sherlock Homes. “Dramatising his thought process, I liked the idea that for the audience, in the first few episodes, you’re like ‘what’s happening?’”

Parkhill also touched on how the camera work played a central part in keeping up the mystery. “There are so many shots where it keeps you on your toes. The guiding principle was to do as much as possible in camera.”

Experience the all-encompassing mystery in Young Sherlock when it releases on Prime Video March 4.