'Sherlock' Season 4 release date confirmed; Here's everything you need to know about the new season

By Maria A. / Oct 31, 2016 01:10 PM EDT
(Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Winter ) Actor Benedict Cumberbatch (L) and actor/writer/producer Mark Gatiss attend the 'Sherlock' panel during Comic-Con International 2016.

"Sherlock" Season 4 is just a few months away, as BBC announces the official release date for the Benedict Cumberbatch series. As per reports, fans of the show will welcome the New Year with a bang as "Sherlock" Season 4 is slated to premiere on Jan. 1, 2017. In the meantime, here's everything you need to know about "Sherlock" Season 4.

Is this the last and final season?

There have been rumblings that the fourth outing will be the last for the show. According to TVLine, Cumberbatch hinted in an interview with GQ magazine that "it feels like the end of an era, to be honest." Furthermore, Cumberbatch said "Sherlock" Season 4 "goes to a place where it will be pretty hard to follow on immediately."

Ending the show with the fourth season seems likely given the show's movers. Cumberbatch and co-star Martin Freeman are currently busy filming big-budget movies. Both have recently joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Strange and Everett Ross. Showrunner Steven Moffat is also busy working on the long-running series "Doctor Who."

John and Mary Watson deal with parenthood

There's a new addition to the "Sherlock" brood, and that's John and Mary's baby. Mary is about to give birth in the upcoming season, and the couple begin to learn the ropes of parenting. Sherlock's reaction to the child is also something that will be exciting for the fans to see.

Ghosts of the past haunt Sherlock and John

"Sherlock" Season 4 is going to be darker than the show's previous seasons. "Ghosts of the past are rising in the lives of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson bringing adventure, romance and terror in their wake," showrruner Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat told Metro. "This is the story we've been telling from the beginning. [It's] a story [that's] about to reach its climax."

Tom Hiddleston joins the show?

Earlier this year, a photo of Gatiss with "Sherlock" star Amanda Abbington and Tom Hiddleston raised rumors about the latter's participation on the three-part BBC series. It was speculated that the "Thor: Ragnarok" actor would portray Sherrinford Holmes, Sherlock's borother.

Cumberbatch has not given a definite answer as to whether Hiddleston is going to be in "Sherlock" Season 4. When asked how it was like working with Hiddleston, the "Doctor Strange" star told Radio Times, "In 'Thor Ragnarok?' Er...I'm sorry. Big fat line through those questions. I'm not gonna say anything,"