A new show entitled The Irregulars was released on March 26th to Netflix. It’s another Sherlock retelling, but it follows a group of kids who help Sherlock and Watson solve crimes of the supernatural nature. I’m not going to lie, I really only started watching it because Harrison Osterfield was in it, but I was pleasantly surprised with the rest of the show. It was very much a teen drama filled with all the hormones and sex drive that comes with it, but it was also funny and a little scary at some points. There was a reasonable balance.
In the show, there were a lot of well developed characters. The lead Beatrice, played by Thaddea Graham, was strong, confident, and complex. She’s also an Asian woman leading the cast, which I love. Harrison Osterfield played Prince Leo, the very horny Prince of England who had been trapped in Buckingham palace his whole life and is looking for friends and adventure. Darci Shaw plays Jessie, who is the group’s connection to the supernatural world. McKell David plays Spike, the loveable caring best friend, who also serves as the comedic relief. Lastly, there’s Jojo Macari who plays Billy, the brooding boy who is tortured by his past and his unrequited love. The show was inexplicably diverse for being set in Victorian England and I think that is something to appreciate. All of the characters were generally likable characters and had great chemistry between them.
Each episode is a different supernatural mystery to solve. Now, I’m a wuss, so some of stories were far too scary for my liking. There was an episode where people’s faces were getting peeled off, so I had my eyes diverted for most of that episode. But the balance between scary, funny, and romantic was usually pretty good. The love scenes weren’t graphic, they were just implied. It made the show feel less about that part of the relationship, and more about creating an effective side plot. The banter between the characters was also on point. The relationships between characters that had known each other since childhood felt like they had been friends forever, whereas the newly formed friendships with Prince Leo were a little rockier, and required some navigation. The balance of themes throughout the show really reminded me of Stranger Things.
There were a lot of plot twists, some better than others, but all of them led to really interesting relationships. I don’t have too many complaints about the show because it’s exactly what I signed up for. I think the one thing I disliked was the lack of likable and sympathetic adult characters. We meet John Watson pretty early, and instead of being the likable one like he is in most adaptations, he’s doesn’t have many redeeming qualities. That particular trait of his doesn’t go away until the very end of the show. While the scene where it does is precious, it took a little too long for his actions to be excused. Sherlock Holmes isn’t introduced until later in the show, and while I found his arc a little predictable, I do think it was entertaining. The rest of the adults on the show were pretty despicable all the way through, which, while making there someone to root against, also made some scenes hard to watch.
The Irregulars is a good show to binge. It’s only 8 episodes, so it’s a quick watch with all the makings of a great show. Even better news is that it’s been rumored to already have been renewed for a season 2 that’s going to start filming this summer—and with the cliffhanger it ended on, I can’t wait to where they go from here. Check the show out on Netflix!