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Blind Sherlock is now on Netflix: a Dutch Holmes twist
A blind wiretap analyst solves Rotterdam drug cases by sound

- August 8, 2026
- Updated: August 8, 2026 at 10:16 AM

Blind Sherlock hit Netflix on January 23, 2026. It’s a Dutch-language crime drama, six episodes long, with a Sherlock Holmes spin. At the center is Roman Mertens, a blind civilian working in a Rotterdam police wiretap unit, where his extraordinary hearing helps him catch clues in drug cases.
Newcomer Bart Kelchtermans plays Roman Mertens, and the role leans hard on those listening skills. He picks up clues, speech patterns, and tiny details other people miss while working inside the Rotterdam police wiretap unit.
Frank Lammers is part of the cast as well. The Holmes element doesn’t come from Roman stepping into a standard detective role, but from the almost absurd level of deduction he brings to the job.
There’s also a real-life angle here. Blind Sherlock is reportedly inspired by Sacha van Loo, a blind civilian who spent more than a decade with the Belgian police wiretapping unit and helped solve hundreds of cases. Showrunner Kristof Hoefkens has said the team wanted to build a police procedural around a blind lead character and present his disability in a positive way, even as a kind of superpower.
If you’re into imported mysteries and Holmes-style stories, this is probably one to put on the list. Early reactions have been split, though: some viewers are singling out Bart Kelchtermans for praise, while others feel the show doesn’t quite live up to how strong the premise sounds on paper.
Blind Sherlock joins Netflix’s Holmes-related lineup after The Irregulars, and it arrives just as Prime Video is getting Young Sherlock ready.
You can stream Blind Sherlock on Netflix now.
Kimley Erno is an editor at Softonic with eight years of professional experience. Before transitioning into tech, she wrote movie and drama reviews and developed brand editorials for e-commerce platforms.
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