‘Sherlock’ returning with holiday special + fourth season

Benzanine Cucumber and Biblo Fargo are returning for MOAR SHERLOCK. That’s right! A fucking holiday special! A fucking fourth season! And hopefully fucking better than the middling, somewhat rudderless third season!

Sherlock fans have something to look forward to: a one-off special, followed by a three-episode fourth season. BBC One said today that shooting on the special would begin this January and that work on the new season would begin later in 2015. There’s no word on when to expect any of these episodes to actually air, or what exactly they’ll be about. For now, the BBC only hints that they’ll focus on Moriarty.

“We’re ready to unleash the most shocking and surprising series of Sherlock yet,” BBC One writes on Twitter. “The only thing is to expect is the unexpected.” Sherlock‘s seasons have come at a fairly slow pace, premiering around two years apart. With the schedule announced today, it sounds as though Sherlock could be on schedule to deliver its next season in 2016 — once again after about a two year break.

“A special, plus a new series of three episodes — it’s a record-breaking run!” series creator Steven Moffat says in a statement. “Of course, it’s far too early to say what’s coming, but we’re reasonably confident that the very next thing to happen to Sherlock and John, is the very last thing you’d expect…” [The Verge]