A few weeks ago, we got our first trailer for the Sherlock holiday special, and now the BBC and PBS have announced that the special, officially titled Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, will premiere on January 1, 2016 in both the U.K. and the U.S. Each new season has shrunk the debut window, but with rising piracy rates, the networks have apparently said “Screw it,” with regards to the release date for the special, and I’m curious if this attitude will continue for the upcoming fourth season, which will begin filming in spring 2016 according to BBC One’s Twitter:
So that’s not a bad way to kick off your New Year, although I’m curious to see how well a Sherlock set in the 19th century will play considering that the allure of Steven Moffat’s take on the character was placing him in the modern day. Do fans now love the dynamic between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman so much that they’ll watch the characters in their traditional time period? It will be interesting to see how both the ratings turns out for this given the different time period, it's Sherlock’s first special, and they removed the premiere date gap.
Here’s the official synopsis for Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (via EW):
“Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) return as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the acclaimed modern retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic stories. But now our heroes find themselves in 1890s London. Beloved characters Mary Morstan (played by Amanda Abbington), Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) and Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs) also turn up at 221b Baker Street.”
And in case you missed it, here's the new trailer (this one contains the title and air date):
