‘Sherlock’ season 4: Martin Freeman sees the value in shorter runs

When you look at the overall landscape of British television versus that in the United States, there is one difference that should be fairly clear to you from the get-go: The Brits do not often chose to really draw out some of their favorite movies and TV shows. Rather than running the risk of them overstaying their welcome, they have a tendency to cut things off rather early, while they are still in the peak of their popularity and viewers are clamoring for more. One great example of this is “Fawlty Towers,” while another is “The Office” or any of the other shows produced by Ricky Gervais in the country.

Someone else from “The Office” in Martin Freeman learned quite a bit about this model via experience, and he, despite more episodes being ordered, feels like “Sherlock” can learn a little bit from this. Speaking to Graham Norton in a BBC Radio One interview, here is what Freeman had to say on the subject:

”Based on my own previous [experience], really – there were only two seasons and a Christmas special of ‘The Office’ and people still eulogise that, people still talk about that – luckily for us.

”I always kind of think if The Beatles were still around now, people would’ve lost interest quite a long time ago. Seven years of recording – it’s there forever. I think not outstaying your welcome is a vital ingredient.”

Before you start to panic and think that Freeman is potentially calling for the end of his own series, remember here that this is just the opinion of one man on the subject in an interview. It’s not necessarily what the BBC is doing. The luxury of “Sherlock” is that they are done so irregularly that every time they do come back on the air, they feel new and exciting again.

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Photo: BBC One