‘Elementary’ Season 6 Spoilers: EP Teases Desmond Harrington’s Character

“Elementary” executive producer Rob Doherty said that Desmond Harrington’s character in Season 6 of the CBS series is more complicated than he seems to be.

In a recent interview with TVLine, Doherty said that even though Harrington’s character, Michael, will be introduced as a typical friend to Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller), viewers will eventually find out that he’s actually more complex than he appears to be.

“At least in the early goings, he’ll be something of a friendly ear for Sherlock, who will be going through a lot,” Doherty said. “Michael is somebody who’s in recovery and someone who wants to be helpful. But as is so often the case, the deeper we get into the season, we’ll see there’s a bit more going on with Michael than meets the eye.”

As previously revealed by Deadline, Michael is a recovering addict who once found inspiration to stay sober from Sherlock. Michael now offers to return the favor and be an ongoing support to the British detective.

The timing of Michael’s introduction to the series seems perfect for Sherlock since he hasn’t really been in good terms with his partner Joan (Lucy Liu) after he forgot to attend Shinwell’s (Nelsan Ellis) wake in the Season 5 finale. But despite the rift between the partners, Doherty said that Sherlock will eventually make amends with Joan and tell her about his mental condition.

Doherty told Entertainment Weekly last June that Sherlock “knows by now that problems like these are best addressed with help from friends,” so viewers will definitely see the sleuth open up about his health issues to Joan next season. The real question, however, is how long before Sherlock will tell Joan about it. “Has he waited too long to confide in her?” asked Doherty.

“Suffice [it] to say [given his health issue], Sherlock will have a lot more on his plate,” Doherty told TVLine. “Working as a detective is about to become a lot more complicated for him and life in general. The Brownstone will become more complicated for him and Joan.”

The 13-episode Season 6 of “Elementary,” which also stars Aidan Quinn and John Michael Hill, will premiere midseason on CBS.