Elementary Takes Holmes and Watson to Scotland Yard

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are the Batman and Joker of detective fiction. No matter how many versions  we've seen in different film and television series, there always seems to be an appetite for more. We like them boozy and brawly in a steampunk context, as with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in the Guy Ritchie movies. We like them aloof and vaguely Aspergers-y like Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock. We even like them animated, in Disney's The Great Mouse Detective.

For over six years, Johnny Lee Miller has been playing a modern-day Sherlock Holmes on CBS, and the twist this time? This Watson is a LADY. Lucy Liu plays the newly monikered Joan Watson, and like many shows that air on CBS you probably had no idea it's been on for this long. (Seriously, look up what season Blue Bloods is up to.) The vibe between this particular version of Holmes and Watson has been shaking up the status quo of what we've expect from these kinds of stories. Our Emma Fraser praises the show's groundbreaking portrayal of platonic love, and it's true: how many boy-girl procedurals have you seen that don't eventually go the will-they-or-won't-they route?

SEASON PREMIERE: The seventh and final season of Elementary kicks off with Holmes and Watson out of America and ironically out their element in London, as newly employed as consultants at Scotland Yard. 10:00 PM ET on CBS

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Perhaps knowing that the upcoming ten-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death will be flooded with remembrances and hand-wringing over what those remembrances mean in the wake of everything we've learned about him, ABC is getting in early remembering the other American icon who died that same day. This Is Farrah Fawcett features interviews with the people who knew her and rare footage of the star actress from her days as a Charlie's Angel to her battle with cancer. 8:00 PM ET on ABC

SERIES PREMIERE: Sundance TV's adaptation of The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco's novel about 14th century monks who step into a murder mystery, stars John Turturro, Michael Emerson and Rupert Everett. 10:00 PM ET on Sundance

NEW SEASON: In the third installment of Netflix's anthology horror series, SLASHER, former counselors return to the remote Canadian summer camp where they committed a crime long ago, only to find that the past isn't quite dead yet. Streaming on Netflix

ALSO TONIGHT

• The Twilight Zone welcomes Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids) and Amy Landecker (Transparent) for an episode about a son who inherits a gun from his father after the father takes his own life. Streaming on CBS All-Access
• Red Nose Day, NBC's fifth annual charity celebration of music, comedy, and big Hollywood stars, welcomes Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Kate McKinnon, Chrissy Metz, and Julianne Hough, among others. 8:00 PM ET on NBC
• Hollywood Game Night airs a special Red Nose Day episode, featuring Kelly Clarkson, Kenan Thompson, Kristen Bell, and Jennifer Garner. 10:00 PM ET on NBC
• How Far Is Tattoo Far? kicks off its second season of extreme tattoos with four back-to-back(-to-back-to-back) episodes. 9:00 PM ET on MTV

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.