For a successful show with millions of fans, the BBC’s Sherlock certainly has had a limited run. With three seasons totalling only nine episodes, the show has succeeded in making everyone really excited about even the smallest crumbs dropped by its cast and crew. So when Martin Freeman publicly revealed that there might be a one-off Christmas episode of Sherlock in the offing, there was much joy in the blogosphere.
Now Freeman informs a desperate public that the Christmas special will likely be coming in December 2015; at least, that’s his understanding, and he should know. Here’s what Freeman told The Telegraph (via Collider):
 If that’s going to be a special – I’m speaking off-message here; if this was New Labour I’d get fired – I think that might be for next Christmas. A Christmas special. That’s what I understand.
Although this is being described as a one-off Christmas special – i.e. not the first instalment of Sherlock’s next season – let us remember that Season 3 of Sherlock was only three episodes long. In the balance of things, a single episode is pretty significant.
Freeman also confirmed that Watson’s wife Mary (played by Freeman’s real-life spouse Amanda Abbington) intends to remain on the show, so everyone hoping for Sherlock and Watson to declare their love for each other is just going to have to wait.
Given the schedules of Freeman, co-star Benedict Cumberbatch, and showrunner Steven Moffat, it’s unlikely that filming on the one-off episode will begin until early 2015. And there’s still absolutely no saying when we can expect to see season 4 of the show. Basically, any new and extended Sherlock is a long way off. For now, we’ll just have to make due with this Christmas special, which I suppose isn’t the worst thing in the world, right?
