The Game Is On: ‘Sherlock’ Starts Filming Season Four

The game is on! Sherlock season four has begun filming in Merry Old England with Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular detective and Martin Freeman as his skeptical sidekick, Dr. John Watson.

This season finds the pair back on British soil to take on “ghosts of the past” as Watson and his wife, Mary (played by Amanda Abbington), prepare to become first time parents.

Last we saw Sherlock and Watson, they were in the 1890s for the holiday special, “The Abominable Bride.” Released on New Year’s Day, the special scored more than 11 million viewers and huge foreign ticket sales for a theatrical release, but it was met with mixed reviews, and aired a day too late to net Cumberbatch another BAFTA nomination.

Cumberbatch, who has been in New York filming the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe feature Doctor Strange, said, “I can’t wait for everyone to see season four. But you will have to wait… though not for long… And it will be worth it.”

So how long will we wait? Speculation is that episodes will air January 1, 2017.

Co-creators & Executive Producers Mark Gatiss & Steven Moffat teased that “This is the story we’ve been telling from the beginning. A story about to reach its climax…”

Season Four has also made headlines for the first episode of the BBC series to be helmed by a woman – Rachel Talalay, who has a 25-year career with over 75 hours of TV credits to her name… but somehow it is still newsworthy when a woman does a job.

So are you in for Season Four of Sherlock? And do you think Moriarty will make his return? Let us know your Superfan theories in the comments below!

And watch Yahoo TV’s Comic-Con interview with Rupert Graves, Sherlock’s D.I. Lestrade…