Sherlock Holmes, the most famous detective in all of the media, has had no shortage of adaptations, spin-offs, and re-interpretations in the modern era. As one of the most famous characters to ever emerge from British literature, the BBC decided to invest quite a lot of time, money, and passion into their own version of the story, which is simply titled Sherlock.

As of the time of writing, the last episode of Sherlock to air was the final of season 4, titled "The Final Problem," which was released on the 15th of January in 2017. It's certainly the kind of title one might expect from a show's final episode, and since then, there has been no word from the BBC or the show's creators that a 5th season is in the cards, leaving fans without much hope for a new installment.

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On top of that, Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock in the show, has been quite busy lately, starring in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, who will be getting a new film in 2022. Still, some fans continue to dream that Cumberbatch may one day return to the BBC in order to put together another few episodes of the show. Unfortunately for those fans, Cumberbatch made it clear that the chances of a new season are probably slim in an interview with Collider. According to the actor, there aren't any current plans to work on a season 5, and while he doesn't want to say no, he can't make any promises: "I don't know. And I'm the worst person to ask because my slate's pretty, pretty full at the moment."

Sherlock Watson Cumberbatch Freeman
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson

Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have also been hesitant about confirming the 5th season, suggesting that one has been plotted out, but that they aren't sure it will ever happen. Most of the key players in the show also have scheduling conflicts that make it difficult to get them all in one place for filming, so no efforts have been made to greenlight a full season.

Still, Cumberbatch didn't fully rule out a return to the Sherlock character in some form, suggesting that maybe they could find the time in a non-television format: "Maybe one day, if the script's right. And I say 'the script,' maybe it could be a film rather than the series. Who knows? But anyway, not for now." So there it is: Sherlock won't be returning any time soon, but there's still interest in the project. Maybe someday Cumberbatch will start solving mysteries again, but until that day, fans should try to make peace with the ending they currently have.

Perhaps fans will be satisfied with the upcoming Netflix series titled The Irregulars. Set to premiere on March 26, 2021, the series focuses on the eponymous group of ragtag characters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books, offering a supernatural take on the material.

Sherlock is now available on Netflix.

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Source: Collider