‘Sherlock’ season 4 premiere date set for Benedict Cumberbatch, cast — in America, anyway

Given that “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride” aired at the start of 2016, we certainly had a hope that something similar could happen for the fourth season — yet, at the same time it was not confirmed before now.

Today, we learned that PBS will in fact air the first episode of “Sherlock” season 4 on January 1. This is not confirmation regarding a UK premiere date on BBC One, but we feel like this increases the odds significantly of the show airing on the same day. There has never been a “Sherlock” episode to air in America first, and given the makers of this series, we don’t think that is going to change.

The series once again will star Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular detective, with Martin Freeman also playing the part of John Watson. Expect a wide array of villains, including Toby Jones, as well as some cases that test Holmes on both a physical and psychological level.

While there were some quotes at one point from Cumberbatch that the upcoming season could be its last, he has since come out and said that those quotes were taken out of context and that he’d very much like to keep playing the character; however, there is no plan at present of when this season could air, or what the overall story would be. Our feeling is that these are characters who could age gracefully, so we could easily see it coming back on television in the future so long as the actors and the writers are available.

For the time being, let’s continue to be grateful that these two movie stars are still enjoying the work here enough to continue to put forth the work to put them on TV.

Want to get some other news when it comes to “Sherlock”? Then be sure to head over to the link here! (Photo: BBC One.)