‘Sherlock’ season 5 renewal: Will it happen? Why you’ll be waiting to see Benedict Cumberbatch, cast return
Tonight, we come to the end of the road for “Sherlock,” as the BBC mega-hit will be concluding with the 90-minute episode “The Final Problem.” It’s been proclaimed to be one of the most important episodes of the entire series yet, and you also know based on what happened in “The Lying Detective” that Euros Holmes will be involved somehow.
We don’t want to spend too much time talking about what may / may not happen in the finale within this article, largely because by the time many of you are reading this, you’ve already watched the episode and are a step ahead of us here. Instead, we want to example the show’s uncertain future now that we’re staring a long horizon between the eyes. The obvious truth is that there will not be any more episodes of “Sherlock” in 2017, and there will likely not be any in 2018. Regardless of what the reviews or the ratings may be, there doesn’t appear to be any means in which to get everyone back at work in time to produce more stories for the next twenty or so months.
The reasoning for this seems to be merely a matter of talent popularity. It is a good thing for an actor to be coveted, and that is precisely what is happening here. For Benedict Cumberbatch, he’s got an extensive amount of work to do in the Marvel universe, in addition to several other smaller projects. Meanwhile, Martin Freeman will continue to have endless movie and television offers out there — including one of his own with Marvel. Think about everything that these two men have already done in the industry since the show began; why would you imagine some of that slowing down? Trying to circle down dates will always be a challenge for the future of the series.
On the writing side, we imagine that co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss will remain busy in their own right. Moffat in particular has one more season of “Doctor Who” to release, and there could be an interest on both of their parts in doing something different and not based on a preexisting property moving into the future.
It’s possible that everyone in the cast and crew could move on and be happy, and this could be one of those situations where you hear constantly about another season that doesn’t come together. It’s a similar relationship to what we’ve had with “Arrested Development,” though we are starting to get the sense that a fifth season of this comedy could finally be coming almost four years after the last season debuted on Netflix.
Personally (and like with “Arrested Development” following its fourth season), we do think that there will be more “Sherlock” down the road. It’s just possible that we could be looking at a very long wait. With this particular cast and crew, you want the experience of filming the show to be something sacred and special, that they can come back to and feel like they’re home. It’s an experience like no other, and one that shaped their careers. That is why we implore many of the press to not constantly harass everyone associated with the show regarding when they will be coming back to tell more stories. When they come back, they’ll come back. There’s no real need to harp on them about it. They’ll announce it when they’re good and read. The last thing you want to do is make them feel obligated, or that none of their work beyond “Sherlock” has the same inherent value.
(Photo: BBC One.)