The first trailer has been released for beloved series Sherlock, whose fourth season may in fact be its last. Though the Christmas Special wasn't all fans may have hoped for, it's certainly nice to see Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman) back in action, especially in their own time period. There are sure to be a lot of tricks and twists in the new season, but the strength of the series' cast -- and their obvious love for the show -- is what makes it so great.

Having said that, I'm not fully in love with the direction this first trailer takes. When did this become a Bourne movie? What I've always adored about the series is its light tone, even in the face of darkness, and (often, though not always) keeping things confined to London. Check it out below:


Of particular note is the fact that Sherlock has a crisis beard! Also, we hardly saw anything of John in the trailer, though I do like Mrs. Hudson getting a sharp word in to Mycroft, calling him a reptile. You tell 'em!

Keeping Moriarty as a part of things (as set up by the Christmas Special) is good for continuity, but we'll see if it makes any sense (I love Andrew Scott though, so either way I'm fine with it). I do like the idea of this season's arc being a puzzle that Sherlock has to solve in order to save people, but Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington) is looking like a scene out of Homeland. And what is this about demons coming to haunt Sherlock? I'm proceeding with cautious optimism.

Sherlock, created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, also starts Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves, Louise Brealey, and maybe a return of Andrew Scott’s Jim Moriarty? One never knows …


The series is set to launch, unofficially, on New Year's Day on the BBC in the UK, but will hopefully hit American shores soon afterwards.

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