The premiere of Sherlock season 3 episode 1 "The Empty Hearse" brought in a massive ratings boost for BBC One on New Year's Day.

At it's peak, 9.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the highly anticipated premiere of "The Empty Hearse", which became the most watched program on BBC on January 1.

Benedict Cumberbatch returned as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as John Watson in this week's season premiere. Viewers finally got to see what happened to Sherlock Holmes, who faked his death in the finale episode of season 2.

The promo for the upcoming second episode, titled "The Sign of Three" has been released. The next episode will feature John Watson's wedding to Mary Morstan, with Sherlock Holmes being the best man.

The official synopsis of Sherlock season 3 episode 2 "The Sign of Three" is as follows:

"Sherlock faces his biggest challenge of all - delivering a Best Man's speech on John's wedding day! But all isn't quite as it seems. Mortal danger stalks the reception - and someone might not make it to the happy couple's first dance. Sherlock must thank the bridesmaids, solve the case and stop a killer!"

The second installment will air at 8.30 p.m. on January 5, 2014 on BBC One in the UK. Viewers will be able to watch the episode online via live stream on BBC.

Click here for viewing information in the U.S. on PBS January 14, 2014.

Sherlock is a British television crime drama with a contemporary update to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The show was created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson. Six episodes have been produced so far. The first three episodes aired in 2010, and series 2 aired in 2012. Production for series 3 started in March 2013.