Sherlock Season 5 Still On The Cards, But It’s At Least A “Couple Of Years Away”

Perhaps the game is still afoot after all?

For all of the critical acclaim directed at the mystery drama, Sherlock season 5 is by no means a sure thing, and over the past six months, many of the show’s creative team – Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman included – have entertained the possibility that the fourth season will become its last.

The jury’s still out on that one, but one actor who still believes Benedict Cumberbatch’s prickly intelligent sleuth has a future on the small screen is Andrew Scott, who plays Sherlock’s arch-nemesis, Moriarty. Appearing on last night’s episode of The One Show (via Radio Times), Scott joked that the UK is more likely to stage another General Election before the show’s fifth season debuts. But assuming co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are able to get the gang back together, it’ll likely be “another couple of years” before Sherlock makes his return.

I don’t think there’s another series of Sherlock coming soon. I think another General Election would come first! We’re not doing [Sherlock] for another couple of years. Everybody got quite busy, you know? You want to keep it fresh and stuff like that.

Barring Victorian-themed spinoff “The Abominable Bride,” Sherlock tends to release in three-episode chunks every two years, and the show has become rather notorious for moving along at a glacial pace. That slow turnover is often overlooked because of the sheer quality of Moffat and Gatiss’ contemporary drama, but even still, the biggest obstacle currently facing the BBC series is finding the necessary amount of wiggle room on both Cumberbatch and Freeman’s respective slates.

So, there you have it; Sherlock season 5 isn’t off the table, it’ll just take another two years before we begin to see something tangible from Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, and the rest of the team.

Tell us, what do you make of Andrew Scott’s estimation? Sound off in the usual place and be sure to watch this space for more, as we’ll bring you any further developments as soon as they arise.