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In case the podcast brought you here and you're wondering what we're on about.

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Issues in Sexuality and the Media MVC (2)

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'Help! My eyeball is bigger than my wrists!

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'Help! My eyeball is bigger than my wrists!

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Gender dimorphism (representing men and women as entirely different physically) in Disney

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“Help, My Eyeball is Bigger than My Wrist!”: Gender Dimorphism in Frozen - Sociological Images

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The Society Pages (TSP) is an open-access social science project headquartered in the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota

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Jen Richards discusses casting cis men to play trans women

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Jen Richards discusses casting cis men to play trans women

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Relevant to cis normativity and the cis gaze

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I've made this point in a few interviews, but never on Twitter, so let me lay it out. Reasons not to have cis men play trans women:

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I've made this point in a few interviews, but never on Twitter, so let me lay it out. Reasons not to have cis men play trans women:

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I auditioned for this. I told them they shouldn't have a cis man play a trans woman. They didn't care.  https://t.co/T7YFe6OeX9

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I've made this point in a few interviews, but never on Twitter, so let me lay it out. Reasons not to have cis men play trans women:
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

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I've made this point in a few interviews, but never on Twitter, so let me lay it out. Reasons not to have cis men play trans women:

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I auditioned for this. I told them they shouldn't have a cis man play a trans woman. They didn't care.  https://t.co/T7YFe6OeX9

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I've made this point in a few interviews, but never on Twitter, so let me lay it out. Reasons not to have cis men play trans women:

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I've made this point in a few interviews, but never on Twitter, so let me lay it out. Reasons not to have cis men play trans women:

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I auditioned for this. I told them they shouldn't have a cis man play a trans woman. They didn't care.  https://t.co/T7YFe6OeX9

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At a very reasonable price!

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'Lester makes the most complex of subjects easy to digest. I finished with more insight and knowledge than I ever expected' Stylist What does it mean to be transgender? How do we discuss the subject? In this eye-opening book, CN Lester, academic and activist, takes us on a journey through some of the most pressing issues concerning the trans ...

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Traces the history of queer cinema through its posters

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Films about "the love that dare not speak its name" have been around for decades, but only recently have they formed an out-and-proud genre. In the first overview of its kind, The Queer Movie Poster Book traces the history of gay film through its posters and promotional art. Sometimes alluring, sometimes lurid, often coded, the posters speak volumes about the social mores of the times and the struggle for queer identity. Historian Jenni Olson includes over 150 posters -- from Wallace Beery drag follies to the latest indy ...

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Films about "the love that dare not speak its name" have been around for decades, but only recently have they formed an out-and-proud genre. In the first overview of its kind, The Queer Movie Poster Book traces the history of gay film through its posters and promotional art.

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"I think the word bromance is so passé," Downey grinned. "We are two men who happen to be roommates who wrestle a lot and share a bed.''

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Sherlock Holmes is a stuffy old Brit clad in a plaid trench coat and thinking cap, forever brandishing a wooden pipe in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other. Walking the English countryside, he is shadowed by his faithful companion Watson, the duo speaking only in the most courteous of terms.

"It's badass," remarked a stubble-faced, beaten-up Robert Downey Jr. when we visited him on the set of his next movie recently, knocking apart our preconceived notions of the 122-year-old sleuth. "Guy is a very visionary filmmaker."

The "Iron Man" star is referring to director Guy Ritchie, known for creating ultraviolent drama in films like "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." And although his "Sherlock Holmes" is set in 1891, its mind-set is far from the 19th century - as evidenced by the green-screen studio where we caught up with the director.

"I don't know what it is going to end up looking like yet," Ritchie laughed. "I was attracted to the idea, because I wanted to do something that was different from what I've done previously. It was English, and I like that. And an iconic character, I like that. And [the studio] had deep pockets, and I like that. So I get to play with all the toys I can play with."

Those toys include top-notch stars like the Oscar-nominated Downey, Jude Law as Dr. Watson and Rachel McAdams as a femme fatale who steams up Holmes' magnifying glass.

Asked whether her character was new or from the classic books, the "Notebook" star explained: "Irene is a bit of both. She's in one story. She's in 'A Scandal in Bohemia,' and she doesn't really appear anywhere else. So it's been a mix of what Arthur Conan Doyle set out and what the writers added on. [Holmes and Irene] are quite old flames at this point. They have a bit of a history together. He was actually the witness at her wedding. She coerced him into that, unknowingly. Lovely. And this scene [that we're shooting today] is the first time they've met since that wedding, and she's no longer married. She's come back to ask for his help."

"This story is influenced by Conan Doyle," Ritchie said of the flick, which has the duo battling an evil genius (Mark Strong) who plans to take down all of England. "But Sherlock Holmes was the first western martial artist, and we've picked that up, which has never really been picked up in any of his previous productions. And the truth was, [all the previous Sherlock films] never really had the budget or the technology to have capitalized those aspects of Holmes. ... We are as authentic as we can get to Holmes, and at the same time, we have a contemporary feel to our film."

"I knew enough about Sherlock Holmes to know that there was a lot of unchartered material," Jude Law said of the script. "I knew [Downey's casting] was going to be something exciting, and therefore the project was going to be something exciting. And as soon as I met him, we got on very well - which is a good sign - and we both agreed that we wanted to really make this a piece about the relationship between Watson and Holmes."

"I think the word bromance is so passé," Downey grinned. "We are two men who happen to be roommates who wrestle a lot and share a bed.

"No," Downey laughed. "To me, the great win in our depiction of Sherlock Holmes is Jude Law's Watson, [who is] much more right from the book. He's had a military career, a decorated soldier, a serious doctor, a bit of a womanizer, a bit of a gambler. And I think that makes him a much more interesting foil for Holmes."

"When you go back to the books, there's so much more," Law said of the Holmes/Watson dynamic, which, when the film hits theaters in November, will be anything but elementary. "They're both meaner, harder, more complicated. They both live in a London that is much seedier and much more dangerous. And when you highlight the interesting elements in the [original] stories and turn them into a modern sensibility, you've got a really exciting equation."
Check out everything we've got on "Sherlock Holmes."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more - updated around the clock - visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law Explore 'Bromance' On 'Sherlock Holmes' Set

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Sherlock Holmes is a stuffy old Brit clad in a plaid trench coat and thinking cap, forever brandishing a wooden pipe in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other. Walking the English countryside, he is shadowed by his faithful companion Watson, the duo speaking only in the most courteous of terms. "It's badass," remarked a stubble-faced, beaten-up Robert Downey Jr.

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A scene where Watson literally rips Holmes' (drag) clothes off.

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A scene where Watson literally rips Holmes' (drag) clothes off.

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Also including some interesting shots of bullets and gun barrels.

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Train Scene Part 2 HD

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Dr Watson, Mrs Watson, and Holmes....take a train

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Dr Watson, Mrs Watson, and Holmes....take a train

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Part 2 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbHsOZyhTNY

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Train Scene Part 1 HD

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This discusses a famous queer Victorian scandal

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Fanny and Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England

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28th April 1870. Fanny and Stella, the flamboyantly dressed Miss Fanny Park and Miss Stella Boulton, are causing a stir in the Strand Theatre. All eyes are riveted upon their lascivious oglings of the gentlemen in the stalls. Moments later they are led away by the police.

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The Orgy episode of What We Do In the Shadows

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The Orgy episode of What We Do In the Shadows

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A recent self-referential take on transgressive sexuality and the vampire myth. Hilarious and mildly NSFW.

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What We Do in the Shadows - Series 1: 9. The Orgy

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Tensions run high as the vampires prepare to host the Biannual Vampire Orgy.

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Train Scene Part 3 HD

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Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows trailer

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Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows trailer

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Watch this and think about how the relationship between Watson and Holmes is presented. You might want to consider: Holmes in drag? The physical contact between them? How their interactions are structured? The film-makers' use of metaphor to suggest different kinds of relationship?

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) EXCLUSIVE HD Trailer

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'I'm not going out with you dressed like that, Holmes.'

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'I'm not going out with you dressed like that, Holmes.'

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A scene from early in Game of Shadows

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Disguised Scene HD

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Dracula is 'bi-homicidal, not bisexual' (because an intimate penetrative physical act involving the exchange of bodily fluids is not sexual, of course)

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Dracula is 'bi-homicidal, not bisexual' (because an intimate penetrative physical act involving the exchange of bodily fluids is not sexual, of course)

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You might want to have a look at a specifically queer publication covering this story, here: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/28/bbcs-new-dracula-is-bi-homicidal-not-bisexual-yes-really/

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The BBC's new version of is "bi-homicidal" rather than bisexual, according to the show's co-writer Steven Moffat.

There has been speculation over the vampiric count's sexuality in the forthcoming series written by Moffat and his Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss.

In the three-part series, it is insinuated that Dracula (Claes Bang) has sex with Jonathan Harker (John Heffernan), the solicitor sent to his lair in Romania.

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Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

Moffat told , however, that it is not strictly correct to describe Bang's Dracula as bisexual.

"He's bi-homicidal, it's not the same thing," said Moffat. "He's killing them, not dating them."

Moffat also told The Telegraph: "He's not actually having sex with anyone. He's drinking their blood.

"You might need to delete your Tinder if that is what you think. Dracula has always fed off men and women."

Sex scenes did not appear in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, but his character drank the blood of both genders in the original book and subsequent screen versions.

Dracula starts on New Year's Day at 9pm on BBC1.

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BBC's new Dracula is 'bi-homicidal' not bisexual

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The BBC's new version of Dracula is "bi-homicidal" rather than bisexual, according to the show's co-writer Steven Moffat. There has been speculation over the vampiric count's sexuality in the forthcoming series written by Moffat and his Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss.

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'Will your beard be with us...allll night?'

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'Will your beard be with us...allll night?'

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In which Watson and Holmes discuss heteronormativity. 'It's so overt, it's covert.'

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Meeting Mycroft Scene HD

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This cartoon reflects on the numerous ways adaptations tend to caricature Watson in order to simplify or magnify Holmes' talents.

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The whole of Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows can be watched on BoB here or on YouTube (below).

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The whole of Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows can be watched on BoB here or on YouTube (below).

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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL80E76521EDE3D13C

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Learning on Screen - The British Universities and Colleges Film and Video Council

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Queered spaces: Holmes, Watson, and the androgynous waiters

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Queered spaces: Holmes, Watson, and the androgynous waiters

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You might also want to think about the subversion of heteronormative expectation here

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Stag Party Scene HD

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Sherlock and Watson dance together at a ball - for impeccable plot-based reasons

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Sherlock and Watson dance together at a ball - for impeccable plot-based reasons

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'By the way, who taught you to dance?'
'You did.'
'Ah. I did a fine job.'

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Ball Dance Scene Part 2 HD

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Look at how homosociality and heterosexuality are represented here. Which seems closer? More honest? Are there conflicts?

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Wedding Scene HD

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This article discusses the relationship between Sherlock and Joan in relation to sexuality in the series finale. BIG SPOILERS if you haven't seen it.

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Spoilers ahead for the series finale of Elementary on CBS, called "The Last Bow."

Elementary has officially come to an end after seven seasons of mysteries, mishaps, and intrigue. Although the stories of Sherlock Holmes have been adapted for TV and movies over and over again, Elementary was unique for setting the action in America and turning Dr. John Watson to Dr. Joan Watson.

For many fans, the relationship between Sherlock and Joan was what kept the show fresh and interesting through the years. The relationship was also decidedly platonic, and it was in jeopardy following the penultimate episode that saw Sherlock fake his own death and relocate to Europe. So, heading into the finale, one of the biggest questions was of what they would be to each other by the time the final credits rolled.

Would Sherlock be back in Joan's life after their ruse to fake his death was no longer necessary? Or would their break have cut them loose to the point that they didn't need each other anymore? Would Elementary finally throw them a romantic twist, now that there would be no need to preserve a platonic status quo? Well, the series finale managed to pack a lot of emotional twists into just an hour, and it answered the question of whether Sherlock and Joan ended up together.

The wonderful news is that Sherlock's faked death and absence for three years didn't destroy their bond, even though Joan wasn't thrilled that he'd stopped making contact after only one year of separation. For his part, Sherlock wasn't thrilled that she used a secret signal to call him back just because Moriarty had died -- or "died," as the case turned out to be -- and left something to him, when the signal was only supposed to be used if Joan's life was in danger.

They were a bit awkward at first, and Joan's adorable adopted son Arthur meant that they couldn't just fall back into comfortable old habits. Both were still keeping secrets from each other when Sherlock decided he had to return to Europe to continue his work there. Then, Gregson dropped a bombshell on Sherlock that shook him to the core: Joan had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu both turned in stellar performances in the scene that followed, as Sherlock confronted Joan about her diagnosis, appalled that she was going to let him leave for Europe with no plan of when he might return. Joan protested that she fully planned on surviving her diagnosis, but Sherlock immediately told her that he was staying with her in New York. There was even a hug that alarmed Joan about as much as anything else in the episode. Seriously, I was reaching for a tissue by the time this scene was over. A+ work by Miller and Liu.

There was a time jump of a year next that showed Sherlock standing in a cemetery, and he discussed the fact that "she" died with an NSA agent. The episode really seemed to be revealing that Joan had died and Sherlock was mourning, but not so! Instead of ending the series on a heartbreaking note, the episode revealed that Moriarty was dead -- or "dead," as the case tends to be when it comes to Moriarty -- and Joan had been given a clean bill of health.

Wearing a wig to cover the hair loss from her successful chemotherapy, Joan joined Sherlock to ask Captain (!) Bell to take them on as consulting detectives again. They were together and a team again, and all was right with the world. But it was decidedly not romantic. Elementary showrunner Rob Doherty revealed why he decided that Sherlock and Joan would never get romantic, saying this:

I wish I could say it was really hard, but when you know what you want to do, that makes it quite a bit easier. There was never any pressure from on high. Certainly, there was a section of the fanbase that looked for it. But it was always more interesting to me to keep things platonic, show a great friendship instead of a great romance.

Sherlock and Joan may be one of the most touching and unique love stories on television, but it wasn't a romance. They ended up together as friends and family and loved ones, just not as lovers. Honestly, fans should probably just be happy that both of them lived to the end of the series, and they really did get happy endings. Joan was able to adopt an adorable little boy and start a family, and Sherlock came home to his found family.

It was a bit unfortunate that it took something like the potential return of Moriarty and a cancer diagnosis to bring them together again, but surely it was only a matter of time, right? Sooner or later, Joan was always going to smash Sherlock's headstone as the signal for him to come back, or Sherlock was going to break and reach out to her. In fact, by his own admission, he very nearly did after he relapsed in Europe, but she'd recently been approved for an adoption, and he didn't want to drag her into his mess.

While viewers did get to see Sherlock and Joan's reunion after three years apart, we didn't see as they got used to each other again in that year time jump. Was there any lingering awkwardness? How did Arthur and Sherlock react to each other? How did everybody handle the challenges of Joan's illness and treatment?

Rob Doherty explained what the series finale didn't show about that year in his chat with TVLine, saying this:

I believe, first and foremost, he was her support system over the course of that year that we didn't get to see. In a lot of respects, he was what Joan was to him in the first season of the show. Obviously, each would have been dealing with very different problems, but having lived with Joan for seven years and having become, essentially, a part of her family, our present-day Sherlock is equipped to be that for someone. So I'm sure it was a lot of tending to Arthur, as needed, while she underwent chemo and whenever she felt sick. I also imagine work probably fell away for a while for both of them, which for the Sherlock of seven years ago would have been impossible. He thought that's what he needed, that was his oxygen. But Joan is his family, and has been for quite some time, and so that makes Arthur his family as well.

If you ask me, there was no more fitting way to conclude to Elementary than bringing Sherlock full circle to care for Joan after she'd finally been able to adopt a son. They ended up together, and they were all ready to start their consulting detective work together again. Life was going to go on for Sherlock and Joan, and that makes it a little bit easier to say goodbye. The adventures continue, even if we don't get to see them.

Besides, we can always hope for a revival to happen at some point, right? Lucy Liu is only moving over to CBS All Access, after all, and the stories of Sherlock Holmes are timeless, even if not always well-received. You can also relive the earlier days of Sherlock and Joan with episodes of Elementary streaming on Hulu and CBS All Access.

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Elementary Spoilers: Did Sherlock And Joan End Up Together In The Series Finale?

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Spoilers ahead for the series finale of Elementary on CBS, called "The Last Bow." Elementary has officially come to an end after seven seasons of mysteries, mishaps, and intrigue. Although the stories of Sherlock Holmes have been adapted for TV and movies over and over again, Elementary was unique for setting the action in America and turning Dr. John Watson to Dr. Joan Watson.

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Elementary star Lucy Liu discusses the characters' romantic and sexual lives.

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Everyone involved with "Elementary" has grown accustomed to the CBS drama's status as a perennial bubble show, and was fully prepared for it to end with Season 6. And last season's finale would've been a perfectly suitable final bow, with Sherlock and Watson having reaffirmed their mutual affection and admiration and finally taken up shop at the detective's iconic 221B Baker Street home.

But to no small surprise, the long-running series was instead gifted with a 13-episode victory lap, one final chance to sew up the remaining storylines, bid a proper farewell to its cast of characters and maybe solve a few more murders along the way.

"I felt accomplished," series star Lucy Liu said in an interview with TheWrap about the final run of episodes. "I didn't feel sad, necessarily. I know that sounds strange, but this [show] was a such big endeavor."

Also Read: 'Elementary' to End With Season 7 on CBS

Liu and company certainly have a lot to feel accomplished about. By the end of the show's run, she and her co-star Jonny Lee Miller will have played their version of Watson and Holmes in a total of 154 episodes of CBS's Sir Arthur Conan Doyle adaptation.

"I didn't shed a tear, because the joys that came out of this show were the kind that I don't know that I would've thought possible doing other shows and other movies," Liu said. "I just felt so happy. Is that strange? I felt joyous."

The 13-episode final season sees Sherlock and Watson return to their New York brownstone after a year abroad when Captain Gregson (Aidan Quinn) is shot while investigating a potential terrorist plot. In the process, they'll have to reckon with their damaged relationships and reputations after last season's finale. They'll also have to find a new equilibrium in their personal relationship in the wake of Sherlock's admission that they're "two people who love each other."

According to Liu, the duo has come to a place where they "see each other outside of just their partnership" and more in terms of their genuine friendship this season. They've begun to realize that they're better together (platonically, of course) than they are apart, a new paradigm that extends to their colleagues at the NYPD. It's the personal connection that lures them back to New York and to Captain Gregson's bedside.

"To me, those are the more interesting aspects of the show," Liu said. "Even more so than who's gonna be the antagonist for that season."

Also Read: Lucy Liu to Star in Marc Cherry's 'Why Women Kill' at CBS All Access

Read TheWrap's full interview with Liu, in which she looks back on "Elementary's" impressive seven-season run, teases what's still left to come for Sherlock and Joan and explains her character's new (blonde!) look.
TheWrap: How did it feel coming into this season knowing this would be the end?
Liu: I felt accomplished. I didn't feel sad, necessarily. I know that sounds strange, but this was a such big endeavor. I've said before that working on this kind of a show is not a race, you have to pace yourself, and I was really impressed at how we survived. How we were able to group together and become stronger as a family throughout the last seven seasons. I always look on the bright side of things - I didn't shed a tear, because the joys that came out of this show were the kind that I don't know that I would've thought possible doing other shows and other movies. I just felt so happy. Is that strange? I felt joyous.
Is there anything in particular that you'll miss the most about "Elementary" as you move on to other projects?
I'll miss seeing my friends. With a show like this, you know, you have the opportunity to see people rain or shine. You kind of have to be there, and you're excited to be there, so you can always see each other and catch up. That's not something that we're going to have anymore, because we're not reporting for duty. So that I'll miss. But I'm still in touch with everybody. We still text, we still get together, but it's not the same. You have other jobs and that tears you apart, in terms of location and time, and now we're not as much of a unit as we were before. So that's tough.
Knowing that you were going to be wrapping up Joan's story, was there something specific you wanted to see happen? Or that you were really hoping to get to do?
I really wanted to make sure that she didn't lose her personal life. You know, in the time that the show's been on, she's had a partner and then he was killed. There were so many different ways that we could go, but I just felt like I wanted to see more of the relationship end on her part. I had talked to Rob [Doherty, showrunner] about it, too. That was something that I was sad about not having developed [earlier], because I didn't want it to seem like you can have a career but you can't also have a personal life. And that sort of changes in Season 7, so I was happy for that. Because I didn't want it to seem like it's impossible to have both.
There was the storyline last season about her trying to start a family, and that's obviously been back-burnered a little bit after everything that happened in the last couple of episodes. Is that something that we'll see come back for her?
I think she definitely continues to struggle with it. It's something that I know a lot of women friends of mine also struggle with. That sense of "I'm so in the flow right now, is it a good time for me to stop and go into this?" It's a very modern sort of thing to be concerned about. So it's something that comes up in Season 7, and I was glad for it. Because like I was saying, it was important to me to delve into her personal life more and not give up on that, or say that [starting a family] was out of the picture just because she made a choice about it before. I'm glad Rob was able to continue that story and not just let her turn into somebody who doesn't even think about it. Because I've had friends who decided not to have children, but they did at some point think about it, you know? So I think that's an honest assessment of what it means to prioritize your career.
I also wanted to ask about Joan's hair. There was a line in the premiere about her going blonde, was that a creative decision or something that happened in your personal life that got written into the show?
That was something that happened in my life but it worked out well for the story [Laughs]. I was doing a movie in Canada, and I'd been wanting to change my hair color anyway, so it was kind of a great opportunity to do that. And then in the same week, we also got picked up [for Season 7]. So it was sort of happenstance, but Rob was totally cool with it. He was like, "Well, if Sherlock can shave his head, Joan can have blonde hair." He didn't even flinch, it was great.
It plays into this sense that at the beginning of the season, Joan's feeling a little bit like a fish out of water in London, where Sherlock is obviously very at home. How would you describe the state of their relationship after the time jump?
I think it's in a place where they're able to move forward in their relationship knowing that they're for each other, regardless of the fact that he committed this terrible crime, essentially. The main thing that Rob always stressed from the very beginning was that he wanted to maintain the relationship - the friendship - between these two characters. A lot of people were asking when it was going to become romantic, but he never strayed from that idea. It's remarkable the way that he honored that. But that was one of the reasons I was really excited about working on the show. He was able to say, I want the depth of their relationship to constantly be up for discovery.

Love doesn't necessarily have to be a romantic, but the word can be dangerous to use, especially when there's two different genders involved. Everyone assumes that we're going to get together or that when we say it, it means that we're in love with each other. That's not necessarily the case. [Sherlock and Joan have] almost like a heightened type of love because they've been through so much. They have this deep understanding of each other because their relationship started with her as his sober companion, as a support system. And then it changed and sort of metamorphosed over the course of the series.
At the end of last season she followed him to London, and then in episode two of this season, he ends up following her back, even going as far as to turn himself into the FBI. Was there ever a moment in that process where these two characters considered just going their separate ways? What's at the root of those decisions to cross oceans for each other?
I can't remember which season it was, but there was a point where Joan moved out because she really needed to discover who she was on her own and she was really disappointed in him [at the time]. But they moved past that and discovered they were better together than they were apart. And I think in this season, they really start to see each other outside of just their partnership. They see each other more in terms of their friendship. That's also really clear even with Sherlock's relationship with Captain Gregson. At the start of the season, he's disappointed and really angry, and their personal relationship is really coming apart. To me, those are the more interesting aspects of the show. Even more so than who's gonna be the antagonist for that season.
Can you talk a little bit about your working relationship with Jonny? What's it been like to play these characters who are so tightly bound together for the better part of a decade?
There's a sense of professionalism that we've been able to maintain over the course of the show. Because we both work in the same way. And we've both grown a lot throughout that time. He started directing on the show, I started directing on the show. So we've also gotten to see each other outside of being actors. We're peers, but we've also been able to hoist each other up and kind of encourage each other. And I don't know that everyone works in the same way when they're doing a show like this. And, I have to say, I've learned a lot from him, so I'm really glad we've been able to be partners in this. I'd even include in that mix Aidan [Quinn] and Jon Michael [Hill], who have really also been our framework for the show. The high points to me are when we were all together. I know that's not often the case, but I don't see it just as Jonny and I, necessarily. It's all four of us. That's not really a big cast, when you consider seven seasons, but in this case it really was the four of us holding up the show. And I credit Rob as the person who really kept that foundation as strong as it was.

That being said, Jonny and I work really well together. I'm going to go see him in his play tomorrow. So we try to support each other as much as we can, and I hope that will continue as time progresses. Because you do lose contact, that happens when you move on to other projects. But hopefully we'll keep those family ties.
I also want to ask you about "Why Women Kill." How did you choose that as your next project? What kinds of things were you looking for?
To me, Marc Cherry is somebody who can really connect drama with comedy. And I've spoken about it before, but my passion is comedy. I love it, I live for it. It's something that makes me feel connected to my best self, when I'm laughing and making other people laugh. And I don't always know that that's a possibility, but Marc really is able to play with that line, much like David Kelley did on "Ally McBeal." So I was offered the part, and Marc said he'd been wanting to work with me and that I'd be playing a character in the 1980's, it was already like, "I'm in." Shoulder pads and big hair? Come on. We just finished two episodes and the character couldn't be more different from Joan Watson. Plus, it's still within the CBS family, and they really have been such a great supporter of mine. It was kind of a no-brainer. I love the opportunity to really reach out and stretch those acting chops, the discovery and the exploration of different kinds of parts.
"Sherlock" airs Thursdays at 10/9c on CBS.

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'Elementary' Star Lucy Liu on Sherlock and Joan's Final Run

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Everyone involved with "Elementary" has grown accustomed to the CBS drama's status as a perennial bubble show, and was fully prepared for it to end with Season 6. And last season's finale would've been a perfectly suitable final bow, with Sherlock and Watson having reaffirmed their mutual affection and admiration and finally taken up shop at the detective's iconic 221B Baker Street home.

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Rob Doherty (Elementary showrunner) and the cast discuss the characters' relationship

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Rob Doherty (Elementary showrunner) and the cast discuss the characters' relationship

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Elementary - Sherlock and Watson ... Will They, Won't They

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This collection of short clips gives a sense of how Joan and Sherlock's relationship is represented in Elementary. In what ways is sexuality represented or not represented here?

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How does this series represent the relationship between Holmes and Watson? How does it differ from Elementary or Game of Shadows?