Character Posters For Sherlock: The Abominable Bride Introduce Leading Players

This Christmas, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat will whisk Benedict Cumberbatch’s famed sleuth back to the Victorian era with Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, a one-off festive special that ought to sate our appetites as we endure the long wait for season 4.

Due to premiere on New Year’s Day, the BBC has unveiled a series of character posters for the standalone episode, placing the likes of Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs and Amanda Abbington front and center. There’s even a shot of Cumberbatch’s detective replete with the famous deerstalker hat.

But perhaps the one image to garner the most attention is that of the elusive bride. Masking her face with some rather elegant period garb, the jury’s still out on the actual identity of said Abominable Bride, though early rumors claim that Lara Pulver’s Irene Adler may make a surprise return for the show’s christmas spinoff.

Of course, that’s simply conjecture at this stage, and the fact that the official synopsis for the episode references Rupert Graves’ Inspector Lestrade despite his absence from today’s character one-sheets indicates that there’s still plenty we don’t about Sherlock: The Abominable Bride and the twists and turns that await.

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) return as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the acclaimed modern retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic stories. But now our heroes find themselves in 1890s London. Beloved characters Mary Morstan (played by Amanda Abbington), Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) and Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs) also turn up at 221b Baker Street.

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride will air on BBC come January 1, 2016. Until then, you can get acquainted with the leading players of the festive special via the gallery below.