MIA Shows: Sherlock season 5 and the latest status report

In today’s edition of our month-long MIA Shows article series, we’re focusing entirely on Sherlock season 5. After all, is there any one more in-demand show out there than this one? It consistently draws big ratings on BBC One and other parts of the world and it’s really the thing, perhaps more than anything else, that has made a star out of Benedict Cumberbatch. He’s certainly become busy since first down the show many years ago, and this is one of many reasons why getting more of it has long been a challenge.

Traditionally, we do see waits of a few years, at least, between seasons — with that in mind, it’s not all that much of a shock that it’s been a since season 4 and there is no news on a season 5 on the horizon. With that being said, will there ever be news on a season 5? This is what makes things a little bit different at the moment.

In the past, the cast and crew of Sherlock have shown a willingness to do more of the series and have made it clear, in one way or another, that there is going to be a little bit more of the show out there still to come. Yet, here there is a little bit less of that going on. Nobody has really specified one way or another precisely what the future of the series holds and we have been left with many questions because of that. Cumberbatch himself has suggested that season 4 may very be the end — it did have a fitting conclusion with Sherlock and Watson after yet another twisted mystery.

For the time being, we have to say that Sherlock will in fact remain MIA for more than likely a few more years, at least. Show creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat are putting their energy into a new version of Dracula on BBC One that is going to be structured in a rather-similar way to Sherlock. They even just cast the lead role for the project! Meanwhile, Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have a number of other film and television roles they are working on and they aren’t exactly going to be hard-pressed for work in the years ahead.

Personally, we do still think that there is going to be another season of Sherlock, mostly because of the fact that it is much too hard to imagine the television world without it ever surfacing again. The thing about this show, though, is that there’s no real need for it to come out at any particular point and it can surface whenever the parties involved want for it to. Our feeling, at least for now, is that maybe five or so years down the line, Holmes and Watson can re-emerge with a new, exciting story. If that ever happens, we’ll be sure to let you know.

What do you think about Sherlock season 5’s odds of coming on the air? Be sure to share some of your thoughts right now in the attached comments. (Photo: BBC One.)