It’s been almost three whole years since Sherlock was last on our screens, but creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are set to deliver another adaptation of a Victorian classic for those of us missing the Great Detective. The show has been in the works for a while, but the BBC has finally revealed that Dracula will premiere this New Year’s Day on BBC One.
The series is similarly structured to Sherlock as its first season will consist of three 90-minute episodes. Unlike the detective drama, though, which used to release weekly, Dracula will air nightly, with episodes 2 and 3 following on January 2nd and 3rd. The show is a co-production between the Beeb and Netflix, but there’s no news at present on when it’ll be made available for the rest of the world on the streaming service.
Your New Year is gonna suck but never fear… #Dracula, a three day reign of terror, starts 1st January on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. pic.twitter.com/SNuSUjQoEO
— BBC One (@BBCOne) December 3, 2019
With Dracula, Moffat and Gatiss have decided not to copy their previous trick of updating the story to the modern day as the show will remain set in the Victorian era, in keeping with Bram Stoker’s original novel. The unique hook of this version, we’re told, is that it’ll be from the blood-sucking count’s point-of-view. The titular vampire lord will be played by Danish actor Claes Bang. And as you can see in the tweet above, he looks to have the creep factor yet also the charm required to nail the role.
It’s worth noting that Doctor Who is also due to return on January 1st, with its big season 12 premiere, punningly titled “Spyfall.” Given Moffat and Gatiss’ ties to the sci-fi show, we’d expect there to be a lot of crossover between viewers of these two series. So, UK-based fans will have a lot of great content to sink their teeth into on New Year’s. For overseas fans, meanwhile, look out for some further Dracula news from Netflix, probably soon.