On what date did Sherlock first air in the UK?

Sherlock first aired in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2010. BBC One broadcast “A Study in Pink,” the modern-day opening episode that introduced Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson.

The premiere adapted elements of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet” while relocating the characters to contemporary London. Mobile phones, text messages, GPS and internet searches replaced many Victorian-era investigative tools, but the central partnership and Holmes’s powers of observation remained intact.

The date is sometimes confused with later international broadcasts, the show’s 2017 ending, or the 2010 release of the unaired pilot on home media. The UK run eventually lasted four series and a separate 2016 special, concluding on 15 January 2017.