Sherlock (TV series) is based on characters by a dead writer.
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle KStJ , DL ( 22 May 1859 -- 7 July 1930 ) was a British writer best known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes . Sherlock is a crime drama television series based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's Sherlock Holmes detective stories .