"Sherlock" Season 4 ended without any cliffhangers making it more likely that the Benedict Cumberbatch starrer will no longer be renewed for Season 5.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Steven Moffat said that they ended Season 4 in such a way that there will not be any hanging storylines because the fate of Season 5 remains to be unknown.
"There is not something we have to come back to address. Which is quite good for us. Because if we do come back, we can just start with a knock on the door and a new client, and they can go an investigate," he said.
Moffat went on to admit that this is the first that they are considering the possibility that "Sherlock" will no longer be renewed by BBC One. In the past, every finale episode was written in such a way that it is directly connected to the first episode from the next season.
"If we want to come back and solve more crimes we can do it, that is no problem. We are not allowed to end Sherlock Holmes. As Mary says, they will always be in that flat solving crimes, played by different actors. So the only ending you could ever have is, 'And the legend continues, forever and ever,'" he said.
Meanwhile, "Sherlock" cast member Martin Freeman previously told Radio Times that he does not know if the series will still get the green light for Season 5. But ahead of the finale episode's release, the actor urged fans to not worry so much about the future. Instead, he wanted fans to watch out for the highly-anticipated finale for Season 4.
Unfortunately, just a day before it was released on the network, a copy of the finale was leaked online. It was later on revealed that the leak came from Russia. Executive producer Sue Vertue asked fans to not download the leaked version of the finale episode and to wait until it is released by the network.
The finale for "Sherlock" Season 4 received its lowest ratings. By the looks of it, the fans could not wait for the actual episode to air and downloaded the leaked copy instead.