Hot off the heels of the news that Sherlock season 3 will start filming next week, we’re now hearing that the hit BBC show will see a fourth season, despite previous rumours that pegged the third outing as the last. At the South Bank Show Awards this week, star Benedict Cumberbatch broke the news and stated that he wouldn’t mind going beyond a fourth season as well.
“We’ve agreed to two more series but I could get into trouble for saying that,” revealed Cumberbatch. “All I know at the moment is I’m doing these three [for the upcoming series three] and another three.”
When asked if the series would continue after season four, Cumberbatch replied with the following:
“It just depends on Martin and I’s availability, how long we can keep it going. It depends on Steven Moffat’s ability. I’d love to keep it going.”
Honestly, this news surprises me. Sure, I’m thrilled that one of the best shows on television will continue for another season but all signs pointed to season three being the last. The creators, and stars, have hinted at it many times and at this stage, I thought it was just kind of assumed that season three would be the last.
Plus, there’s also the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are becoming quite popular in the film world and are showing up in more and more movies. As it is, the shooting of season three is being broken up due to the increasingly busy schedules of Cumberbatch and Freeman. With their growing popularity in Hollywood, you’d think that they would just become too busy with films to have time for Sherlock. It appears not though as they have both signed on for a fourth season.
What do you think of this news? Are you as thrilled as we are that Sherlock will be receiving a fourth season? Let us know in the comments below.