CBS Premiere Week is coming up in the 2025 TV schedule, and one of the first shows back will be Watson. Originally expected to return in midseason of the 2025 – 2026 season, Morris Chestnut’s doctor-detective drama kicks off Season 2 on a new night this fall with an episode that’s very personal for Mary. Her mother accidentally poisons herself, and an exclusive first-look clip (seen above) reveals that a rare form of dementia is progressing faster than the exes were ready for. Rochelle Aytes, who plays Mary opposite Chestnut’s John, spoke with CinemaBlend about what’s on the way with her character relying on him.
The Season 2 premiere is called “A Son in the Oven,” and will air on CBS on October 13 and stream next day with a Paramount+ subscription. While the medical mystery of the week will undoubtedly shed light on the title, it’s safe to say that the main patient’s daughter is going to go through the wringer. Mary has seen John’s team work their medical magic in the past, but they also might be short one of their OG team members if Ingrid was out for good at the end of Season 1. The first look indicates that John is all-in on helping Mary, and seems to genuinely care about his former mother-in-law.
When I spoke with Rochelle Aytes about the upcoming premiere, she previewed how much Mary will lean on John with her mother’s health declining:
Mary relies on John 100%. Mary usually is on top of things. She’s a doctor first, but right now she’s just so emotional, it’s just too hard for her to play both roles. I mean, she does, but she depends on Watson 100% because this is just so out of the ordinary. They say that Mary talks to her mother almost every single day, so for her to have this rapid decline – she leans on him so much for his help.
Watson did manage to keep a pretty cool head in Season 1 even when his personal life started to go sideways, including when he was having auditory hallucinations of Sherlock Holmes (then-voiced by Matt Berry). Even aside from being the title character of the show, he seems like the obvious choice for Mary to rely on in her time of need, both personally and professionally.
While the relationship between Mary and John was key to the first season, it seems that she may need to lean on him much more than usual to start the second. Rochelle Aytes went on to credit showrunner Craig Sweeny and his team for writing the unique dynamic:
I think a lot of it is in Craig’s writing and the team. In the beginning, there was some bickering, but I think Mary respects him so much as a doctor that she just kind of puts that to the side to work with him. It’s hard in the beginning, but they are very mature people, and they’re able to work together.
Of course, the writing wouldn’t be worth much if not for the actors who bring these characters to life, and Rochelle Aytes only had great things to say about Morris Chestnut as well when it comes to working on Mary and John’s relationship. She said:
Morris is just such a lovely guy. If there’s ever a time where we need to discuss something, or if something isn’t working and we want to try to figure it out, to help with the connection, he’s right there. So I think we’re just both on the same page and just love the way that they’ve been writing for us.
Find out soon how Season 2 kicks off for John and Mary, as well as whatever remains of the team after how the first season ended. The premiere is also set to introduce Robert Carlyle as Sherlock Holmes, and I for one have been curious about any interactions between Sherlock and Mary ever since the Once Upon a Time vet’s casting was announced. While I can imagine Watson being cautiously excited that his deceased best friend isn’t actually deceased (unlike Moriarty), Mary has a lot of reasons why she could hold a grudge against him.
See what’s in store with the Watson Season 2 premiere on Monday, October 13 at 10 p.m. ET, following the Season 8 premiere of FBI at 9 p.m. ET, all on CBS. The episode will also be available streaming next day on Paramount+, and available streaming live with a YouTube TV subscription.