When is Sherlock coming back to TV?
Will there be another series of the Benedict Cumberbatch detective drama?
It's now been over two years since the series four finale of BBC detective drama Sherlock, and while the hit series' creators insist it isn't gone forever it's looking increasingly likely we'll have a VERY long wait before they reopen the doors of 221B Baker Street.
Take a look below for a full rundown on Sherlock’s possible future.
- This piece of evidence suggests Sherlock could be coming back to TV sooner than we thought
- Steven Moffat on Sherlock: “Maybe the time for a longer gap is upon us”
- Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat launch immersive Sherlock adventure game
Will there be another series of Sherlock?
Well, creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss say they would be surprised if they never made any more Sherlock – but they’ve also suggested they have no immediate plans to make more of the smash-hit BBC drama.
“Nobody has ever closed the door on Sherlock – we just say the same thing all the time and it gets quoted different ways,” Moffat told RadioTimes.com in 2018.
“We haven’t got an immediate plan, but I would remain surprised, given the collective enthusiasm we have for it, if we didn’t do it again.
“When, I don’t know,” he continued. “I think maybe the time for a longer gap is upon us, I don’t know. A longer gap? They’re always long gaps!”
Later rumours that some scouting for a new series had cropped up at a regular location for the series were also quashed by Moffat's co-creator Gatiss, so it really does seem like we’re in for a long wait here. If nothing else, it’s going to be increasingly difficult to reunite movie stars like Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman for a BBC TV series when they could be off shooting a Marvel superhero movie instead…
What about Dracula?
Fans starved of some Moffat/Gatiss action WILL have some succour of course, as the duo are currently working on a new literary adaptation Dracula starring Danish actor Claes Bang.
On the other hand, Dracula is likely to take up a lot of time over the next couple of years, along with other projects they’re both working on alongside it, meaning that is could be even longer before we see more Sherlock.
“We’re doing Dracula, which is going to take two years at least,” Gatiss told us.
“We’re not going to do Sherlock whilst we’re doing Dracula. So it’s not going to happen in the immediate future. Never say never, but no – we don’t have an idea [right now].”
“I could see us making more Sherlocks,” Moffat concluded. “I could see us making Sherlocks way in the future.
“It’s not the kind of show that has to come back all the time. It can revisit. Every time Sherlock comes back it’s a reunion show.”
“One thing at a time,” added Gatiss in January 2019. “Dracula occupies a lot of headspace.”
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
