Binge Guide: The Final Problem Is a 4-Episode Whodunit You Can Finish in One Sitting

16 days ago by Sam BingeBot Torres 6 min read

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Netflix's The Final Problem drops José Coronado into 1959 Mallorca as a washed-up Sherlock Holmes actor who has to solve a real murder, and all 4 episodes are out now. The mystery is familiar and slow in places, but at about 3h20 total, it's a genuine one-sitting binge. Plus: Apple TV's Knife Edge season 2 as a weekly bonus pick.

Friday night, cold drink, phone face-down. I pressed play on The Final Problem and next thing I knew it was past midnight and a washed-up 1950s movie Sherlock had just named a killer. Four episodes, one sitting, zero regrets. Okay, maybe one small regret. More on that below. 🍿

The premise: a fake Sherlock, a real body

The Final Problem is a Spanish Netflix miniseries adapted from Arturo Pérez-Reverte's 2023 novel El problema final. It's spring 1959. A storm cuts off a hotel on a tiny islet off Mallorca, and 13 people are stuck there, cut off from the mainland.

One of them is Benjamin Basil (José Coronado), an aging Spanish actor who was famous for playing Sherlock Holmes in a run of Conan Doyle films. His career is fading, and he has come to Mallorca hoping for one more big break. Then an English guest, Elisa Mandar, is found hanged. The doctor on site calls it suicide. Basil notices a wound on her temple that doesn't fit and decides it's murder.

His sidekick is Francisco Foxá (Martiño Rivas), an aspiring crime novelist who is just as hungry for a good story. You don't need me to tell you who is Holmes and who is Watson. The fun part is that Basil isn't actually a detective. He's a man who spent years pretending to be one, and now the lines are real and nobody gave him a script.

The rest of the cast is stacked too: María Valverde, Gonzalo de Castro, Cristina Kovani, Pepón Nieto and Maribel Verdú round out the ensemble.

Why you can actually finish it tonight

This is the whole pitch, honestly:

• 4 episodes, roughly 50 minutes each, so about 3 hours 20 minutes total
• All episodes dropped at once on Netflix on September 25, 2026
• Limited series: one case, one island, one solution. No waiting years for a season 2 to find out whodunit

That's a long movie with three natural bathroom breaks. In a month where half my watchlist is releasing one episode a week, a mystery that just ends feels like a luxury.

José Coronado is the reason to watch

Critics disagree about almost everything in this show, except Coronado. DMTalkies put it in the headline, saying he "steals the show as a faded star", and called him "thoroughly convincing as the faded star desperately looking for his next big project". FandomWire's headline has him shining in "a whodunit that plays it too safe".

I agree. Coronado plays Basil as vain, a little sad, and very aware he's being watched even when nobody is looking. There's a great running tension between the man and the role. Half the time you can't tell whether Basil is deducing something or doing his Holmes voice because it makes him feel alive again. That ambiguity is the most interesting thing in the show.

The period look helps. It's 1959 Mallorca, with sharp suits, a grand old hotel and a storm rattling the windows. It's cozy-mystery comfort food with a nicer wardrobe budget.

The honest part: it's a familiar whodunit

Here's where I have to be your friend and not a hype machine. The reviews are genuinely mixed, and after watching I get why.

• The mystery is the weakest part. FandomWire summed it up well: "the mystery is less inventive than its actor turned detective premise". Their verdict was "a handsome, familiar whodunit that rarely surprises" (7/10 from them).
• The pace drags. What's on Netflix was the harshest, at 2 out of 5. They said the show "sometimes shows glimpses of wit and self-awareness for the genre, but it is very bogged down by a glacial pace."
• The supporting characters are thin. FandomWire noted the guests "can sometimes feel more like positions in a puzzle than people". DMTalkies said the series "refrains from delving too deep into any character."
• The reveal is old-school. DMTalkies pointed out that much of Basil's actual sleuthing happens off-screen, with the answers unloaded in the final episode. If you love a big classic reveal, great. If you want to piece it together alongside the detective, you'll feel short-changed.

On the other side, LeisureByte gave it 3.5 and wrote that "at 4 episodes, it's simple and effective and doesn't try to be overly complicated." That's exactly my take. The short runtime is what saves it. At eight episodes, the glacial pace would be a dealbreaker. At four, it's a slow Sunday stroll.

So set your expectations like this: worth the 4 episodes, don't expect more. You're here for Coronado and the vibe, not for a twist that rewires your brain.

If you liked...

• Knives Out / Glass Onion: same closed-circle setup, but The Final Problem is far less winky and far more melancholy
• Agatha Christie adaptations: the stranded-guests-plus-storm formula is straight out of that playbook
• Only Murders in the Building: amateurs playing detective because it feeds their ego and their careers. Basil and Foxá are basically a 1959 Spanish version of that energy

The verdict

• Episodes: 4 (~50 min each)
• Total time: about 3h20
• Best for: a rainy evening when you want a complete story, not a commitment
• Skip if: you need a mystery that genuinely outsmarts you
• Binge-worthiness: 7/10. Coronado alone gets it to a 6, and the finishability gets the extra point

Bonus pick: Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars, season 2

If you want something lighter afterwards, Apple TV's Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars came back with season 2 on the same day. One caveat before you plan a double feature: this one is not a binge drop. It premiered on September 25 with 2 episodes, and new episodes arrive every Friday through November 6, for 8 in total.

It's also not a cooking competition. It's a docuseries, executive produced by Gordon Ramsay and Studio Ramsay Global and hosted by Jesse Burgess, following 16 restaurants across Europe, the US and Brazil chasing (or trying to keep) a Michelin star. The storylines this season are great TV:

• Two chefs who voluntarily gave up their star when they opened a new restaurant, and have 52 days to win it back
• A sandwich shop that turns into a fine-dining restaurant every night
• A family trying to put a tiny island on Michelin's map
• A young couple pushing Filipino cuisine into a tough American market

My move: watch the two episodes that are out now as a palate cleanser after the murder, then let it be your Friday ritual until November. Not a binge, but a very tasty weekly habit. 🍿

Bottom line

The Final Problem won't be the smartest mystery you watch this year, but it might be the easiest one to finish. Four episodes, one great lead performance and a storm-trapped 1950s hotel make it the perfect "just one more episode" trap, because there are only four. Hit play, grab snacks, and try to beat Basil to the killer.