‘Sherlock’ season 3: See Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman in striking new group photo

In just two short weeks from today, the return of Sherlock Holmes will be upon us … at least provided that you live in Great Britain. Americans will have to wait until January 19.

But either way, the return of a fan favorite will be upon us very soon, and what we have for you today is the first shot of the entire gang back together, or at least the majority of the major characters. This is somewhat nice because typically, the promotional shots that you get for “Sherlock” are just of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes and Martin Freeman’s Watson. This time around, you have everyone (and we’re going from left to right here) in Molly (Louise Brealey), Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington), Watson (Freeman), Holmes (Cumberbatch), Detective Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves), and Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs).

This photo is from “The Empty Hearse,” which is the show’s premiere that focuses primarily on how Holmes finds a way to re-enter his old world after previously faking his death. We predict that this is going to be a supremely entertaining hour, in part because he will have some definite explaining to do to Watson and others regarding why he did what he did; not only that, but he will need to come to terms with the fact that this world has moved forward, and he may not be able to get things back to the way they were.

Following this episode, the second 90-minute installment of the season will air on Sunday, January 5, so be sure to set aside a good chuck of time in your schedule. Given that “Downton Abbey” has already aired in the UK, we can’t think of a better block of drama programming that will be premiering at the start of the year than this. Plus, you’ve waited two years to see it, which is long enough to drive some people off-the-wall batty (us included).

Photo: BBC One