The premiere air date for Sherlock season 3 has finally been revealed.
The popular detective drama-series will return to PBS in the US on Jan. 19, 2014 at 10 p.m. The series will air after the U.S premiere of British drama Downton Abbey season 4 on Jan. 5, 2014.
Sherlock executive producer Sue Vertue expressed her excitement for the new series in a statement. "We are hugely excited about this next series of Sherlock, and have worked closely with our partners, Masterpiece and PBS, to bring these episodes to U.S. audiences in January. We promise our fans that Season 3 is worth waiting for."
PBS chief programmer Beth Hoppe also stated: "We love that Sherlock fans are so passionate and eager to see Season 3. The pairing of Downton Abbey and Sherlock in January offers a blockbuster night of British drama only on PBS stations."
The BBC premiere date in the UK has not been announced yet, but it will premiere in the UK before the States – so it will definitely air before Jan. 19.
Meanwhile, the show's stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes) and Martin Freeman (Dr. Watson) may have already signed up for a fourth season of the popular detective series.
Sherlock creator Steven Moffat recently told Radio Times at the Cheltenham Literature Festival: "We had to inform the BBC that Martin and Benedict had commissioned a new series." Moffat continued: "They signed themselves up. They both announced that they were carrying on -- so that's good. Benedict, at some red carpet event somewhere, said he was carrying on forever. Martin, at another one, said, 'Yep, series four is happening.'"
The filming for Sherlock season 3 concluded Sept. 1, 2013.
It has been two years since the season 2 finale of the series ended with Sherlock Holmes faking his death, and the new title leaves fans wondering what happens to the detective. Episode 1 of Sherlock will be titled "The Empty Hearse."
"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.
