Sherlock is finally returning. The updated Sherlock Holmes series will start its third season on PBS in January.
Entertainment Weekly reported today that Sherlock will air during PBS’ Masterpieces series beginning Jan. 19 at 10 p.m. It will air following Downton Abbey, which starts again on Jan. 5. This is the first time that Sherlock’s U.S. premiere has been announced before its U.K. premiere, but the BBC will still get to air it before audiences on this side of the pond see it.
“They’re fantastic,” Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton told EW about the new season of Sherlock. “They are jaw dropping. They are like small movies. Benedict [Cumberbatch] and Martin [Freeman] are so in their Sherlock-Watson groove. They are so comfortable with that relationship it’s like being in the room with them.”
Sherlock’s third season had been long delayed since both Cumberbatch (Holmes) and Freeman (Watson) are now huge international stars. Cumberbatch recently starred in The Fifth Estate and Star Trek Into Darkness, while Freeman has been busy on the Hobbit movies. So, Sherlock season three was filmed in three chunks over the past year instead of in one burst.
The new season of Sherlock will include just three episodes, like past seasons. There’s no word on a fourth season yet, though.
According to Deadline, PBS made several other key programming announcements for next year. The network confirmed that Shane Salerno’s Salinger documentary on J.D. Salinger will air on Jan. 21 as part of American Masters.
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