Morris Chestnut Adds Pizzazz to Sherlock’s ‘Watson’

New CBS hospital drama blends medical mysteries with crime-solving

Gayle Jo Carter,

AARP

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Published February 13, 2025

Sally Montana/CBS

Actor Morris Chestnut, 56, plays what he calls a “doc-tective” in his latest project, the CBS hospital drama Watson. The series, which premiered on Jan. 26 but slides into its permanent time slot Feb. 16, is another reimagining of the Sherlock Holmes story in the vein of Elementary, which enjoyed a seven-year run on CBS from 2012 to 2019.

With Watson, Chestnut’s character, Dr. John Watson, is out of the shadow of Holmes (who died a year prior), and focused on solving rare medical mysteries (with historical archenemy Moriarty set to bring the drama). Professionally, Chestnut was eager to play the beloved character: “I felt it was the right time to do this,” he says. “[Watson] truly cares about about the patient.”

In his personal life, Chestnut and wife Pam Byse will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year [they’re parents to son Grant, 27, and daughter Paige, 26]. “I believe that we were both lucky, fortunate and blessed to grow together,” he says. “Now, it takes work, of course. Being in a marriage or any relationship takes a sacrifice and compromise. We definitely both understood that, and we definitely both were up for the assignment.”

Chestnut recently spoke with AARP about his new show; how he went from athlete to actor; and how he keeps in shape even while indulging his “huge sweet tooth.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Close-up view of a Morris Chestnut, meticulously examining an item with a magnifying glass, surrounded by packing materials and boxes.

Morris Chestnut as John Watson in “Watson” on CBS.

Colin Bentley/CBS

Hospital shows are having a moment. I’ve interviewed Scott Wolf about Doc, Noah Wyle about The Pitt and now you. How does Watson stand out?

I love that they’re having a comeback. Ours is not the traditional medical drama. I love that we do have a traditional procedural where we are presented with a medical mystery at the beginning and we solve it by the end of the show. But in addition to that, we have a very strong serialized theme to the show, where each week we’re ratcheting up the intensity by revealing more about the characters, their stories, the background, and the hooks and the cliffhangers. In addition, we don’t just solve the medical mystery inside the hospital but we go outside of the hospital, and we’re detectives. … So we’re doctors inside, we’re detectives outside, we’re doc-tectives.

You like portraying doctors? [Chestnut donned scrubs for Rosewood, Nurse Jackie and The Resident.]

I had fun playing Barrett Cain on The Resident. I get such strong reactions [the Fox series, which ran from 2018 to 2023, is now available on streaming services including Netflix and Hulu] because people didn’t like the character. They have a lot of colorful names for that character when they see me out on the street, and I love that.

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Years ago, when Noah Wyle was starring on ER, he told me people actually asked him for medical advice. Are you ready for that?

Oh, I hope not. Doing a one-hour drama, it’s almost like cramming for a test. But actually [retaining] all that information because we only get eight days to shoot an episode, so cramming all that information in, and before I finish the eight days on this one, I have to already be on to the next one. So it comes in and it goes out.

Did you ever think about becoming a doctor?

As a child, I thought and hoped I would become many things. A doctor was never a thing. Science was definitely not my favorite subject. I wanted to be an athlete and play sports and all of that.

A study in contrasts, dark tones and thoughtful expressions, suggesting a complex narrative.

Morris Chestnut with Rob Yang in “The Resident,” which ran from 2018 to 2023.

20th Cent Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

What sports did you play?

Football and basketball. So when the school year opened, I was on the football team. And then after football season was over in December and January, I was on the basketball team. So getting my school work done was low on the priority list.

So your plan was to become a professional athlete?

So, I love football. I loved football before I loved girls. … So when I was in high school and I was playing, I was an all-league player, but our team was not good, and there was one person on our team that was getting letters from places all over the country. I played varsity as a junior, and I told myself, if I don’t get any letters or any interest from any team by the time I’m a senior … I’m gonna find something else to do.

Did you watch any medical dramas growing up?

I watched some of St. Elsewhere. I’ve seen different ones throughout the years, but I was never deeply into the medical dramas. My cousin’s mother — she loved Quincy [M.E.] back in the day. But back then I was mainly watching sitcoms — Good Times, All in the Family, [The] Jeffersons, What’s Happening!!.

Red carpet ready, Pam Byse and Morris Chestnut couple in their finest attire.

Pam Byse and Morris Chestnut at an event in 2023. The couple will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year.

Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

Along with a smooth run in your career, your marriage has also been a success — what’s the key to that?

Primarily, we’re both good people and we treat each other with respect. Regardless of how mad we get at each other, we don’t say things in disagreements and arguments that we can’t take back. And that’s not something of an intention, that’s just who we are. And then first and foremost, we were lucky to grow together. We first met when we were [in our] early 20s. And people when they get together young, they don’t have bad intentions. They have the best intentions. However, we’re different people at 25 than we were at 20. We’re different people at 30 than we were at 25. ...I believe that we were both lucky, fortunate and blessed to grow together. Now, it takes work, of course. Being in a marriage or any relationship takes a sacrifice and compromise. We definitely both understood that, and we definitely both were up for the assignment.

Did you change your workout routine or your diet as you entered your 50s?

I have changed my workout routine. Instead of lifting heavier weights, I lift lighter weights because my joints and my ligaments — they can’t do all the max I want to, so I don’t do that. I can’t say I’ve changed my diet, I’ve tried different things, but at the core, it’s still basically the same thing. For the most part, you have to be very disciplined with your eating. And for me, I have a huge sweet tooth. And so I know, the more sweets I eat, the more I have to work out. People ask me, “How can I lose weight?” I say, “Well, how’s your diet?” Because people can lose weight without working out. But you can’t lose weight without having a disciplined diet.

What’s your sweet treat of choice?

Oh, I have a few. If I go to a restaurant, I get a lava cake [molten chocolate cake] … [or] get that [warm] butter cake. My wife makes two of my favorites. She makes this condensed pie that’s great. She also makes my childhood favorite dessert that they call a magic cookie bar. It is to die for. Some ice cream on that. I’m really happy.

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Gayle Jo Carter is a former entertainment editor at USA WEEKEND, who during her 30-year reporting and editing career, has worked at USA TODAY, Voice of America and Feature Story News. When not interviewing high-profile people, she’s teaching reformer Pilates classes and doing her best to raise two empathetic, curious, healthy young people to adulthood.