The Johnlock Conspiracy (Encore)

For over a century, fans of Sherlock Holmes have been analyzing, debating, and creating new texts with Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters. But when a fan theory emerged about the BBC TV show Sherlock that posited the inevitability of a gay romance between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson—it wreaked havoc on the community. In this episode, which originally aired in 2018, we explore the Johnlock Conspiracy, with help from historians, journalists, and the fans at the heart of the controversial idea. It’s almost a Holmesian tale itself, full of brilliant theories, false leads and mysterious motives—except for the ending, which, unlike in a Holmes story, isn’t very neat.

This episode was written by Willa Paskin. It was produced and edited by Benjamin Frisch, who also created the episode art. Shasha Leonárd provided production assistance, and Danielle Hewitt helped us fact check the episode. Decoder Ring is also produced by Katie Shepherd, Max Freedman, and Evan Chung, our supervising producer.  Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.

Sources for This Episode

The Baker Street Irregulars.

Grann, David. The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, Vintage, 2010.

Jamison, Anne. Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World, Smart Pop, 2013.

Knox, Ronald A. “Studies in the Literature of Sherlock Holmes,” The Blue Book, July 1912.

Make Me Believe. “BBC Sherlock’s Gay Subtext,” YouTube, Aug. 5, 2014.

Miller, Russell. The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Biography, Thomas Dunne, 2008.