‘Elementary’ season 5 spoilers: ‘True Blood’ alum Nelsan Ellis scores major arc

Nelsan Ellis is one of those skilled actors who you constantly want to see in new things, and it is with that in mind that we’re rather thrilled to learn he is coming aboard the fifth season of “Elementary.” In all honesty, we’re shocked that he has not done even more in the wake of his role as Lafayette Reynolds on “True Blood.”

According to Entertainment Weekly, Ellis is going to be appearing on this particular show as Shinwell Johnson, a man who should be familiar from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story The Adventure of the Illustrious Client. He is in the context of the show a one-time drug dealer who, following stint in prison, is hoping to get back on the straight and narrow. He was at one point a surgical patient of Joan Watson’s prior to his stint in prison, but he turns up on the show now as a tipster, someone who helps in a murder investigation.

Over time, be prepared to see Ellis’ character become more of a resource to Joan and Sherlock, as he is extremely well-connected and will be able to provide a lot of information that will prove useful in closing cases. Unfortunately, there’s an inherent problem here in that putting a former dealer in the presence of so many dangerous faces could eventually cause some of those old demons to rise to the surface once more.

We’ll ultimately see just how much the Shinwell character impacts the show; for now, we at least know he will be in three episodes.

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