'Sherlock' creator to release new comedy drama on Downing Street

Scottish screenwriter Steven Moffat, creator of 'Sherlock' and former showrunner of 'Doctor Who,' will premiere 'Number 10' on Britain's Channel 4 in early 2027. 

The comedy drama, set at Downing Street, the British prime minister's official residence, stars Rafe Spall, Katherine Kelly and Jenna Coleman. 

In an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN) during his visit to Barcelona's Serielizados television Festival, Moffat said he chose not to make a satire because "the real world has out-distanced satire anyway." 

The series follows the daily lives of the prime minister and the team that manages his affairs, though Moffat said the true protagonist is the building itself. He said the location has a slightly shabby quality that captures "the British spirit." 

"Other countries are run from mighty palaces or big castles or huge modern office blocks," Moffat said. "We're run from a daft little street with a big black door."

It's his first time working for Channel 4, and when asked what it offers that the BBC didn't, he replied, "Well, they commissioned it, that would be quite a big thing, that they did for us, that the BBC didn't." 

Moffat sees the channel as the best alternative option, one willing to take on projects others might consider too niche.

"Channel 4 has done very well by taking something that seems a bit niche and making it a hit," he said. "So let's hope that happens this time."

Moffat, who will give a public talk at the Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) on Saturday, also left the door open for a new season of 'Sherlock': "Never say never is always my answer."

An admin job

Moffat acknowledged that British politics are in a turbulent period, with "a mad number of prime ministers" in a very short span, and he doesn't see the trend ending soon. 

While doing his research, though, he realized that the challenges faced by those in power aren't what people imagine, and that "some of the smartest people in the country" have come to grief in the role.

"You go in on some great campaign that you're for social justice, and discover your job is actually making sure everyone's got enough to eat, that clean water comes out of the tap, and that we don't go to war," he said. 

That's why the series never says which party is in power. Moffat didn't want to campaign for or against anyone, and he also realized during the process that, once in power, party labels fade into the background.

"It's an admin job, there isn't the 'left-wing' way or the 'right-wing' way of administrating," he said. "The divide between our two main parties… is not that big, they're not at opposite ends of anything."