The upcoming end of the 2025 TV schedule means that Watson fans are nearly out of medical conundrums for the year, but CBS’ hospital drama is set to enter hiatus on a strong note on December 15. Not only did the Watson team bring back a memorable guest star from the first season, but Robert Carlyle will return as Sherlock Holmes. John had more questions than answers about his old friend the last time they interacted in Season 2, and according to showrunner Craig Sweeny, that plot is going to thicken in the fall finale.
He spoke with CinemaBlend about the final Season 2 case of the year before the 2026 TV schedule, as well as the popular fan theory about Watson and Sherlock.
The Return Of Hobie After Season 1
Watson brought back Nat Faxon as Hobie for the first time since Season 1 for the fall finale, called “Never Been CRISPR’d.” (You can find his first episode streaming with a Paramount+ subscription now.) This time, Hobie isn’t coming to the clinic as a patient. The bio-hacker is bringing his girlfriend in after some gene-editing goes sideways.
Showrunner Craig Sweeny explained that Loot vet Nat Faxon’s return as Hobie to Watson came about because he “really loved that character” from Season 1, “even though he was a relatively small part of the episode.” He went on:
I and the writing staff always wanted to bring him back. But the trait that defined him the first time we saw him was that he was a lonely guy who was coping with that loneliness by messing with his DNA in ways that he perhaps shouldn't. So when we started to talk about bringing him back, it seemed obvious that it should be the story of Hobie in love. Who is he in that context? He certainly seems to me to be somebody who deserves it in his life, so that was our jumping off for that story.
There’s a lid for every pot, somebody for everybody, and love to be found within Watson's community of gene-editing! It seems that Hobie didn’t entirely learn his lesson about the practice causing problems in Season 1, but he knows the right man to help Wendy: John Watson. The showrunner explained what that friendship means for the good doctor (and his team) in the fall finale:
It reaches a crisis point. I would say it's a little bit more of a personal crisis than it is like somebody walking into the clinic with a bomb strapped to them. I think the ultimate question of what's going on with Wendy does take all of our doctors' attention.
Not many medical dramas will deliver crises quite like a man with a bomb strapped to his chest in an episode that’s not as big as a finale or premiere, but Watson is a doctor/detective drama with a format of its own. John will also have more on his plate to deal with beyond Hobie, and his second returning complication isn’t one that he’s been bringing the fellows in on.
The Return Of Sherlock Holmes
After the first season involved John mourning his friend (and hallucinating him with the voice of Matt Berry), the second season kicked off with the detective very much alive. Robert Carlyle acknowledged that Sherlock was “probably suspicious” with the secrets he was keeping, and John hasn’t had a ton to go on with the Pittsburgh Mystery. So, with “Never Been CRISPR’d” as the last new episode of the year, will Sherlock be more forthcoming to John before hiatus? Craig Sweeny answered that very question, saying:
If anything, he's less forthcoming and more erratic, which I think is guiding Watson towards certain beliefs. What you do understand is [John's] theory about why Sherlock has been so secretive since he comes back in this episode. Whether that's ultimately the correct theory or not, it's certainly something that occurs to Watson in dealing with him.
It remains to be seen if Sherlock will be able to help with the case of the week, but something will evidently go down for John to develop a theory about what’s been happening with his old friend. The showrunner’s comments suggest that we won’t get all the answers before the final credits roll.
Mycroft causing problems for John might need addressing, but there are also concerns about whether everything is actually fine with the doctor. There have certainly been twists that add credence to the fan theory that Sherlock never came back at all, but John is hallucinating his late friend. An episode in November seemingly debunked the theory, but according to the Watson boss, the skepticism is “understandable.” He said:
I think it's very understandable why you would think that. I'd be stunned if people didn't think that. I think at this point, if you go back, there are things that indicate that Sherlock is not real, and there are also things that indicate that he is. The ultimate question for us is [whether] all of those things are going to be squared and revealed in a consistent way. And so the ultimate truth is not going to be what either camp is expecting, I don't think.
Sweeny of course didn’t spoil how (or when) the theory will be settled one way or the other, but there’s more to the story. I’m not 100% on board with the theory of hallucination Sherlock, but it's definitely fun to speculate about going back to the very close call of Mary almost walking in on her ex and his not-so-dead friend… or else walking in to discover that something is very wrong. The showrunner weighed in on the close calls of John’s friends finding out about Sherlock:
Our goal is to write them with the understanding of what the audience is likely to come away with from there, and it's pretty apparent that she's close by and doesn't see him. Sherlock has not yet interacted with anybody but Watson. There's no way around that.
As for what exactly you can expect from Watson, Hobie, Sherlock, and all the rest, you’ll have to tune in on Monday night for all the answers. For now, though, check out the promo for what’s on the way:
The Season 2 fall finale of Watson airs on Monday, December 15 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, following the two-hour fall finale event of FBI. Morris Chestnut and the rest of the cast will return in the new year on Sunday, March 1 at 10 p.m. ET. This will be a return to Sundays after the first half of the season aired on Mondays, bringing it back to being paired with Justin Hartley’s Tracker.
