A major development has arrived for the fans of "Sherlock" this week. On Wednesday, BBC has announced the official premiere date of "Sherlock" Season 4.
According to the network, the new season of "Sherlock" will kick off on Sunday, Jan. 1 2017. The announcement comes three months after the official trailer of the series has been released, which sees Sherlock facing a looming threat. The clip also gave fans a first look at Season 4’s Big Bad, Culverton Smith, who is a popular villain from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels.
In addition to the release date, the official poster of "Sherlock" Season 4 was also unveiled. The keyart features the image of Holmes’ violin with a broken string. While the image is probably a metaphor of what’s ahead for "Sherlock" in the trio of new episodes, fans have yet to wait until the network releases details about the major storyline to be explored in Season 4.
The only concrete information for now are the titles of the first two episodes, which were released through the show’s official Facebook Page. The premiere of "Sherlock" Season 4 is titled “The Six Thatchers,” and will be followed by episode 2 “The Lying Detective.”
Dissecting the premiere, ComicBook reported that “The Six Thatchers,” is linked to an original "Sherlock" story titled “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons.” The latter, which is based on Doyle’s “The Adventure of the Dying Detective,” sees Sherlock faking a terminal illness to induce a confession from a guilty party.
Previously, series star Benedict Cumberbatch suggested that followers of "Sherlock" might have to wait even longer to see a potential fifth season. The actor points out that this is due to his busy film career and the schedule of his co-star, Martin Freeman.
"Sherlock" also stars Amanda Abbington, Rupert Graves, and Una Stubbs.