Scripted

Fremantle and Archery Pictures have inked a new collaboration to co-develop and co-produce Moriarty (w/t), an original crime drama inspired by one of literature’s most iconic villains, Professor James Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes universe. The series is written by Chris Cornwell (A Discovery of Witches) and Oliver Lansley (Where’s Wanda?), with Archery Pictures and Fremantle set to co-produce. Fremantle will also handle global sales for the project.

Moriarty (w/t) reimagines the classic antagonist in a contemporary procedural format. The story follows James Moriarty, a Professor of Criminal Psychology at Durham University who secretly leads a double life as the mastermind behind a sophisticated criminal network operating across the North of England. When a rival criminal faction begins to threaten his underground empire, Moriarty is forced into an unexpected alliance with law enforcement, becoming a police consultant in order to dismantle his enemies from within while concealing his true identity. Paired with Detective Imogen Burrows, a stoic Yorkshire investigator, Moriarty soon finds that the real danger may not be his criminal rivals, but the growing suspicion of his new partner.

Kris Thykier, Founder of Archery Pictures, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Fremantle to bring to life the original and character driven spin off from the Sherlock Holmes universe that Chris Cornwell has created. Moriarty (w/t) will show audiences what it takes to be a criminal genius, combining genre thrills with a playful, dark, and thrilling dive into the psychology of villainy.”
Rebecca Dundon, SVP Scripted Content at Fremantle, added: “We’ve been looking for a project to work with Archery on for a while and when Kris brought this to us, we instantly saw huge potential for a commercial, returning franchise that brings to life one of the more elusive characters in the Sherlock world: Moriarty. It’s exciting to collaborate with Kris and the team at Archery to bring to screen a premium, propulsive, contemporary drama that offers a fresh spin on the procedural crime genre with an unconventionally brilliant protagonist at its core.”