We may still have to wait several months for Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), John Watson (Martin Freeman) and the rest of the 221B Baker Street regulars to grace our screens for a new Sherlock adventure, but more details are starting to leak out about the episode. Or at least are being confirmed by co-creator Steven Moffat.
Talking before a panel at the SXSW conference, Moffat confirmed fan speculation that sightings of the leads in 19th garb do indeed mean that our heroes will be part of an adventure that takes place more than a hundred years in the past. “The special is its own thing,” Moffat told EW. “We wouldn’t have done the story we’re doing, and the way we’re doing it, if we didn’t have this special. It’s not part of the run of three episodes. So we had this to do it – as we could hardly conceal – it’s Victorian. Mark Gatiss and me, we wanted to do this, but it had to be a special, it had to be separate entity on its own. It’s kind of in its own little bubble."
So yes, don’t go looking for clues to season four’s dramatics, this will be more of an event episode detached from regular continuity. We’ll take it. As for when we’ll see it? That’s still to be announced, but it’ll take a slot sometime in December, or possibly New Year’s Day, as it has sometimes appeared in the past.