SHERLOCK, the BBC’s modern-day retelling of Sherlock Holmes, will air in the U.S. on MASTERPIECE MYSTERIES Sundays begining October 24th, 31st, and November 7th, 2010 at 9:00 pm on PBS.
From WGBH’s press release
“Sherlock Holmes stalks again in a thrilling contemporary version of the Victorian-era whodunits, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement) as the go-to consulting detective in 21st century London, with Martin Freeman (The Office UK) as his loyal friend, Dr. John Watson, and Rupert Graves (The Forsyte Saga) as the long-suffering Inspector Lestrade. Fast-paced, funny, and surreally true to the hero’s fantastic gifts for deduction, the series — co-created by DOCTOR WHO’s Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss — was a massive hit when it aired this summer in the UK.”
A second series of three 90-minute episodes has been commisioned, and is planned to be broadcast on BBC1 in the Fall of 2011.
There have been other “modern” Sherlock Holmes screen outings, most notably the later-day Universal films, starring Basil Rathbone andNigel Bruce. Many of them were updated to World War II and afterwards, although they generally kept a kind of semi-timeless quality.