The new series, featuring a cast of fresh talent, is loosely based on the concept of the Baker Street Irregulars from Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, in which street tuffs help the famous detective solve mysteries by getting him information. (They’re originally kind of like Lord Varys’ little birds in Game of Thrones.) The show, however, has a supernatural twist and lots of dramatic secrets to uncover as the teenagers get deeper and deeper into Holmes’ world. A few other characters from the Conan Doyle canon, like Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes, the bumbling Inspector Lestrade, and the landlady Mrs. Hudson. But at the end of the day, this is a show about five teenagers living in the London society that Holmes and Watson are trying to protect.
About half of the cast members were pulled from the Netflix well, meaning they already have credits on the streaming service’s original series or films. But not all of them. Some are known outside of Netflix, and some are breaking out in this series.
Thaddea Graham plays Bea
The protagonist of the show is a teenage girl named Bea. She was raised in a workhouse and leads a street gang in London, making her more likely to show up in a Charles Dickens story than a Conan Doyle one.
Graham was last seen on Netflix in another grimy period fantasy, The Letter For The King. She also starred in the British series Curfew and Us. Photo: Courtesy of netflix.
Darci Shaw plays Jessie
Jessie is Bea’s younger sister. She has supernatural abilities (and spooky nightmares) that are an asset to the gang as they struggle to survive and get recruited to solve mysteries… but also a burden.
Shaw’s first on-screen break was a British crime drama called The Bay. She also played young Judy Garland in the Academy Award-winner Judy starring Renee Zellweger. She’s got that classic ingenue look down pat. Photo: Courtesy of netflix.
Jojo Macari plays Billy
There are two rivals for Bea’s affection in the series. The first is Billy, who has been her friend since their workhouse childhood. He’s got street smarts, but those don’t help you navigate emotions.
Macari has two Netflix originals under his belt, Sex Education and Dark. He also played a little prince in Harlots, which is funny as Billy has a royal rival in The Irregulars. Photo: Courtesy of netflix.
Mckell David plays Spike
While everyone else in Bea’s gang is broody and moody, Spike is all charm. He’s a talker, not a fighter, great at getting information and causing a diversion.
David played a modern-day hustler in Snatch, that show that stars Rupert Grint. He was in several episodes of the BBC hospital drama Holby City. His first role ever was in the first episode ever of Black Mirror. Photo: Courtesy of netflix.
Harrison Osterfield plays Prince Leo
At the beginning of The Irregulars, Leo is being kept in bed with mysterious ailments — think Colin Craven in The Secret Garden. But he doesn’t need horticulture. After spotting Bea from afar, Leo simply decides he isn’t sick and starts sneaking out of the palace to hang with his crush’s gang. His posh connections are, to Billy’s chagrin, actually kind of helpful.
Osterfield’s first major role was in the Catch-22 series with George Clooney. He’s also, apparently, known for being Tom Holland’s best friend… if that’s something that interests you. Photo: Courtesy of netflix.
Royce Pierreson plays Dr. John Watson
You know Watson as Holmes’ sidekick and more rational business partner. But Bea and her friends know him as their employer. They help him solve mysteries on Holmes’ behalf, but the biggest mystery is probably why none of them seem to trust him.
Pierreson also appeared in Judy, fun fact, and recurred in the first season of Netflix’s The Witcher. (He was Yennefer’s boyfriend at magic school.) He’s also in the Netflix film Wanderlust, and is maybe, unfortunately, best known for playing the titular boyfriend opposite Georgina Campbell in the BBC film Murdered By My Boyfriend. Photo: Courtesy of netflix.
Henry Lloyd-Hughes plays Sherlock Holmes
There have been so many takes on this character over the decades, but The Irregulars really leans into is Sherlock’s drug addiction. And yes, that’s canon.
Lloyd-Hughes is possibly best known to American Anglophiles as Mark from The Inbetweeners. He also played Roger Davies in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and shows up in both Anna Karenina and the criminally underrated Now You See Me 2. Photo: Courtesy of netflix.
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