best episodes of Sherlock poster

A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.

4 Seasons
12 Episodes
Ended
Crime Drama Mystery
Cast & Characters
episode image The Reichenbach Fall
9.6/10 (42016 votes)

#1 The Reichenbach Fall

S2:E3

The return of Moriarty. The crime of the century. Can Sherlock possibly survive?

episode image A Scandal in Belgravia
9.4/10 (42937 votes)

#2 A Scandal in Belgravia

S2:E1

Blackmail threatens the monarchy and Sherlock is about to meet the woman who beats him.

episode image His Last Vow
9.2/10 (32796 votes)

#3 His Last Vow

S3:E3

A case of stolen letters leads Sherlock Holmes into a long conflict with Charles Augustus Magnussen, the Napoleon of blackmail, and the one man he truly hates. But how do you tackle a foe who knows the personal weakness of every person of importance in the Western world?

episode image The Lying Detective
9.1/10 (29650 votes)

#4 The Lying Detective

S4:E2

Sherlock faces perhaps the most chilling enemy of his long career: the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith – a man with a very dark secret indeed.

episode image The Great Game
9.0/10 (30579 votes)

#5 The Great Game

S1:E3

A strange clue in an empty room, a blood-soaked car, a priceless Old Master, a deranged bomber. With the clock ticking, the curtain rises on a battle of wits between Sherlock, John and the shadowy stranger who seems to know all the answers...

episode image A Study in Pink
8.9/10 (34707 votes)

#6 A Study in Pink

S1:E1

A war hero, invalided home from Afghanistan, meets a strange but charismatic genius who is looking for a flatmate; it is London, 2010, and Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes are meeting for the first time. A string of impossible suicides has Scotland Yard baffled - and only one man can help.

episode image The Sign of Three
8.9/10 (29713 votes)

#7 The Sign of Three

S3:E2

Sherlock faces his biggest challenge of all – delivering a Best Man’s speech on John’s wedding day! But all isn’t quite as it seems. Mortal danger stalks the reception – and someone might not make it to the happy couple’s first dance. Sherlock must thank the bridesmaids, solve the case and stop a killer.

episode image The Empty Hearse
8.8/10 (32643 votes)

#8 The Empty Hearse

S3:E1

Two years on from reports of his Reichenbach Fall demise, Sherlock resurfaces as London comes under threat of a huge terrorist attack. John, though, has mixed feelings – he's delighted by the return of his best friend, but harbours worries that the consulting detective's reappearance will have an adverse affect on his settled domestic life, in particular his romance with Mary Morstan.

episode image The Hounds of Baskerville
8.3/10 (28786 votes)

#9 The Hounds of Baskerville

S2:E2

A hound from hell. Sherlock's most famous case. But is a monster really stalking Dartmoor?

episode image The Final Problem
8.2/10 (30013 votes)

#10 The Final Problem

S4:E3

Holmes and Watson travel to Europe to escape Moriarty's vengeance.

episode image The Blind Banker
7.9/10 (29992 votes)

#11 The Blind Banker

S1:E2

A mysterious cipher is being scrawled on the walls around London. The first person to see the cipher is dead within hours of reading it. Sherlock plunges into a world of codes and symbols, consulting with London's best graffiti artists. He soon learns that the city is in the grip a gang of international smugglers, a secret society called the Black Lotus.

episode image The Six Thatchers
7.6/10 (26562 votes)

#12 The Six Thatchers

S4:E1

Why is someone destroying images of Margaret Thatcher? Is there a madman on the loose? Or is there a much darker purpose at work?

Cast & Chracters

character image Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch
character image John Watson

John Watson

Actor: Martin Freeman

The highest rated episode of Sherlock is "The Reichenbach Fall" (S2E3) with a rating of 9.60.

This episode received 42,016 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Six Thatchers" (S4E1) with a rating of 7.60.

This episode received 26,562 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Great Game" (S1E3) with a rating of 9.00.

This episode received 30,579 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Blind Banker" (S1E2) with a rating of 7.90.

This episode received 29,992 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Reichenbach Fall" (S2E3) with a rating of 9.60.

This episode received 42,016 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Hounds of Baskerville" (S2E2) with a rating of 8.30.

This episode received 28,786 votes.

The highest rated episode is "His Last Vow" (S3E3) with a rating of 9.20.

This episode received 32,796 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Empty Hearse" (S3E1) with a rating of 8.80.

This episode received 32,643 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Lying Detective" (S4E2) with a rating of 9.10.

This episode received 29,650 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Six Thatchers" (S4E1) with a rating of 7.60.

This episode received 26,562 votes.

Name Department Job
Arwel Jones Art Production Design
Phil Bull Art Standby Property Master
Claire Pritchard Costume & Make-Up Hair Designer
Beryl Vertue Production Executive Producer
Bethan Jones Production Executive Producer
Mark Gatiss Production Executive Producer
Rebecca Eaton Production Executive Producer
Steven Moffat Production Executive Producer
Sue Vertue Production Producer
David Arnold Sound Original Music Composer
Michael Price Sound Original Music Composer
Arthur Conan Doyle Writing Characters

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