# Mystery shows with idiosyncratic brilliant detectives, but the partner is pretty smart too **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [November 11, 2026, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-shows-with-idiosyncratic-brilliant-detectives-but-the-partner-is-pretty-smart-too/1034821 "2026-11-11T04:52:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-shows-with-idiosyncratic-brilliant-detectives-but-the-partner-is-pretty-smart-too/1034821/41 "2026-11-12T00:13:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s because Cumberbatch’s Holmes was a “high-functioning sociopath” (his own words). The Jason Lee Miller Holmes was much more empathic, with the show instead focusing on his addictive personality and possible neurodivergence. > > The Downy Jr. Holmes, in turn, focused on his bipolar disorder. It’s actually pretty interesting how three versions of Sherlock Holmes from basically the same period each chose to focus on completely different aspects of the character’s personality. I’m trying to figure out how Hugh Laurie’s House fits in. Holmes as asshole? Bipolar, addictive and neurodivergent are (in my opinion) reasonable things to pull from the Doyle canon and focus a modern interpretation on. Sociopath is much less reasonable (Doyle’s Sherlock was empathic with crime victims (at least of the middle class and higher), and repulsed by blackmailers and those who were cruel to women and children.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2026, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-shows-with-idiosyncratic-brilliant-detectives-but-the-partner-is-pretty-smart-too/1034821/42 "2026-11-12T16:26:26Z")
_Queens of Mystery_ has Matty Stone as the detective and her three aunts – all mystery writers – contribute, investigate, and advise, using their knowledge of mystery fiction and personal history to search out clues. However, Matty is a smart detective herself and uses the information from her aunts to solve the case. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2026, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-shows-with-idiosyncratic-brilliant-detectives-but-the-partner-is-pretty-smart-too/1034821/43 "2026-11-12T22:46:48Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > You may also enjoy the Belgian version, starring Koen De Bouw. Frankly, I thought it was so much better than the British version! I agree. The British version is worth watching, but it doesn’t really depict a neurodivergent detective–as written and played, he’s basically just a grumpy guy who doesn’t smile very often. But the Belgian/Flemish original shows us something we don’t see all that often in filmed entertainment. De Bouw’s performance is amazing, and the show emphasizes his tendency to see what others don’t. (The British version started with an attempt to do this, but gave it up fairly early on.) As people have posted various examples, it’s looking more and more as if the ‘_brilliant detective and bumbling dimwitted sidekick_’ structure is merely an artifact of the Studio System movies of the 1930s and 1940s. Perhaps it was never the norm! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-shows-with-idiosyncratic-brilliant-detectives-but-the-partner-is-pretty-smart-too/1034821/44 "2026-11-12T22:51:15Z")
Googling, the bumbling sidekick in many cases, meant as the audience surrogate. They are there to ask questions the audience or reader is wondering about. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-shows-with-idiosyncratic-brilliant-detectives-but-the-partner-is-pretty-smart-too/1034821/45 "2026-11-12T23:07:03Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > They are there to ask questions the audience or reader is wondering about. My understanding of the OP is that they were specifically looking for shows where that isn’t their (only) purpose That is, where the sidekick isn’t just there for exposition or to give the audience someone to relate to or just a bumbling idiot for comedic relief, but rather as someone who actively and helpfully contributes to solving the crime. Sure, often times the sidekick is, at least in part, to help bring us up to speed and give the protagonist an excuse to explain their reasoning (to the viewers), but that doesn’t preclude them from being an entirely competent sidekick. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-shows-with-idiosyncratic-brilliant-detectives-but-the-partner-is-pretty-smart-too/1034821/46 "2026-11-12T23:56:14Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > My understanding of the OP is that they were specifically looking for shows where that isn’t their (only) purpose That is, where the sidekick isn’t just there for exposition or to give the audience someone to relate to or just a bumbling idiot for comedic relief, but rather as someone who actively and helpfully contributes to solving the crime. Yes, thank you. I’m asking for instances where the partner of the **idiosyncratic, brilliant** character also figures clever stuff out. I want them to be an intellectual team, and one of them to be (I’ll reiterate) idiosyncratic and brilliant, rather than just a bog-standard smart detective. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-shows-with-idiosyncratic-brilliant-detectives-but-the-partner-is-pretty-smart-too/1034821.md?page=2)