Even though there were almost two years between Sherlock seasons 1 and 2, fans need not worry that it will be another long wait before season 3 makes it on the air. Co-creator Steven Moffat promises that it won’t be “too long” before you’ll be seeing Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman) back at 221B Baker Street – just don’t expect it to be all that soon.
Speaking with the Radio Times, Moffat emphasizes the time and effort that goes into producing each episode of Sherlock.
“Get used to a bit of starvation. We’re making movies – those six films we’ve made could go in the cinema. You can’t factory produce that – it’s a different kind of show. So, when we’re good and ready – it won’t be that long – but when we’re ready, you’ll get the follow-up.”
This comment, while directed more towards British viewers, who are more accustomed with short season runs of popular television series than their over-seas counterparts, highlights not only their intention of wanting to create the absolutely best programming possible, but also the difficulty in doing so.
For all intents and purposes, everyone associated with Sherlock has become a hot commodity in the entertainment industry. With Moffat busy full-time with Doctor Who (and perhaps a Tin-Tin sequel), Cumberbatch cast as the villain in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek 2 and Freeman staring in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit (which Cumberbatch will also be in), it quickly becomes apparent how difficult it would be to fit Sherlock season 3 – essentially 3 feature films – in their schedule.
Thankfully, everyone associated with Sherlock is up for the challenge. Neither Cumberbatch nor Freeman have any intention of leaving the series, and with Moffat being as big of a fan of Sherlock Holmes as Doctor Who, he’s confirmed that he’s in for the long haul – perhaps a longer haul than anyone expected.
While discussing his intentions with the series, Moffat revealed his brilliant plan of wanting to bring Sherlock back 20 years from now, with Cumberbatch and Freeman reprising their roles.
“I fondly imagine it’d be nice to stop it for a while and come back and see what they’re like in their 40s or 50s. Because normally these two characters are portrayed in their 50s.
So we’re actually at the beginning. It might be interesting in a couple of decades when they come back and [we] see what they’re like.”
Certainly an intriguing notion for Sherlock Holmes fans, Moffatt’s grand vision does have some precedence in the television world. From 1991-2006, Helen Mirren continuously reprised her role as detective Jane Tennison in the original UK series Prime Suspect. Filming 16 episodes over the course of 15 years, Prime Suspect followed Mirren’s character through the entirety of her career on the force. Add 5 years more years to that and Sherlock might just be one of the greatest television series, featuring one of the literature’s greatest characters, ever to air.
But what about Sherlock season 3? What will happen when Sherlock and Watson return to television?
While Moffat is staying quiet about what’s to come, he admits that there’s been a plan in place from the beginning – a plan that is playing out perfectly.
“We knew we had this cliffhanger coming, we knew that we were doing ‘The Final Problem’, and we did not want people to know that [Holmes] survived.
We wanted to wind the audience up so that the final shot [of series two] would have the impact that it evidently did.
We were commissioned for series two and series three at the same time, but we decided to keep it under wraps that day that series three was in the bag.”
Continuing, Moffat highlights some elements that may be included in the future:
“He and Holmes don’t always live together and I think that’s become a lazy way of doing Sherlock Holmes – they always live together.
They didn’t actually and why would they? Nobody flat-shares forever, so there’s loads of details we can get in there.”
And what about the mischievous Moriarty? While nothing has been set in stone, Andrew Scott, the actor that plays Moriarty, has almost completely ruled out any type of return to the series.
“I have had an absolute blast. He is an extraordinary character to play. I was delighted to be given the opportunity to do it.”
Without the wonderfully evil Moriarty, it’s difficult to figure out what direction Sherlock will head in, as it goes into season 3. Thankfully, series creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are not only brilliant writers, but they also know every Sherlock Holmes story inside and out.
So if there’s one duo you should put your faith in more than Sherlock and Watson, it’s Moffat and Gatiss.
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Sherlock season 2 will premiere on PBS in May. Expect Sherlock season 3 to premiere Summer 2013
Follow Anthony on Twitter @anthonyocasio
Sources: Radio Times, Digital Spy, RTÉ
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series 2 was awesome. i think it was even better then series one. i think what they should do in the future is make a 5 episode series with each episode being 60 minutes long
I don’t know, having watched the pilot and the “proper” first episode, I think the pacing is significantly better in the 90 minute episodes. That extra half an hour allows for the program to breathe and not become too frantic. Can you imagine how rushed any of the series two episodes would have been if you cut that half an hour? What is there even to cut, really? Everything that is there feels like it should be there, which is a policy I wish a lot more TV shows would follow. (Maybe this is all just me, and the fact I’ve just been on a massive Sherlock binge lately, but it’s my two cents so…)
Yes it would be nice to have more than three episodes at a time, but I would rather have three fantastically made episodes than five or six that were made not so great just so there were more episodes. Either way, I love the series and hope it knows when to stop (particularly if they want a relaunch in 20 years time to be successful-although with that in mind, as they get older it may make sense for the episodes to become shorter as they become less action based, perhaps)
I agree, three amazing episodes are better than 5 of lesser quality. There is really nothing that can be cut out of the shows. I think the writers/creators pay very close attention to detail and what is in each episode is significant.
I cried when Moriarty died. Brilliant character. Bring him BACCKKKKK!!!!
yeah i cant believe they killed moriarty either. hes sherlock nemesis!
Famous that he is, Moriarty only ever appeared in one Holmes story. The idea that the two had a long hero-villain feud spanning many adventures was a product of later film adaptations.
They introduced Moriarty a little too early in my opinion. They should’ve introduced him in series 2 or 3.
Moriarty isn’t dead either. Simple movie squib (a big one) and a blank bullet. the REAL question is how did Sherlock survive that plunge. He certainly knew it was coming – he chose the venue for the final showdown. Did he have the sidewalk jury-rigged to absorb energy? Did he wear some sort of cushioning? Perhaps a wire secured to the roof to him to slow his descent? One thing is for sure, his wounds would not be able to fool a war hardened doctor who has seen it all. Therefore Watson already is in on it and could have pronounced him dead officially. The troubling part though is he fell such that his head would hit. How does one protect an un-helmeted head?
Moffat said that people missed the big clue in the finale… but I didn’t miss it, so I didn’t think others would either.
Here’s the clue Moffat gave: Sherlock did something he’s never done before.
Answer: He asked for help.
That’s what the clue is in your opinion Anthony, that’s not definte.
Steven Moffat, the co-creator of Sherlock, gave that clue to fans who missed what was in the episode.
Sherlock asked for help from Molly Hooper, who works in the morgue.
Two facts… not opinions.
Molly… who worked in the field of bodies… She could have easily helped Sherlock fake his own death, but John actually saw him fall!
But John also “saw” a hound.
genius
John didnt actually “see” Sherlock fall. he got dinged by the bike messanger ( which was clearly set up by Holmes). And, if you remember, the paramedics were on scene almost immediatly (also part of Holmes and Mollys plan). I cant wait to see what they come up with next. And there is NO WAY they kill off Moriarty so easily. he’ll be back when you least expect it !! love the show, absolutely brilliant!
Of course the paramedics were quick he was on top of a hospital.
if they want to stay in the path of connan doyle, moriarty stays dead for good. there are a lot of interesting cases among the short stories, why would we need to see a whacko getting off on being the “bad” guy. so lame. i want to see cases and solutions. Don’t make me bored.
But there WAS a hound.
Shooting a blank gun that close to your head would still kill via the pressure released. Learned that a week ago courtesy of 1,000 ways to die.
However, I still think Moriarty may live. Although this was based on the story Doyle wrote to end Sherlock and Moriarty, so the writers may have really gone and killed him.
Haha… UK viewers will also know that from Derren Brown’s Russian Roulette.
This is also what killed phineas boggs from the show voyagers. He was on set playing with a prop gun and bang, right in the face.
I can’t wait for the next season. And how about some spoiler tags in this thread please. I’d be pissed if I hadn’t seen both seasons.
For US folks, I should note that Derren Brown didn’t get hurt, he just used a gun that fired blanks instead of a real one.
Blanks shoot out a small piece of paper or plastic (depending on the round and brand) out when they’re shot. It doesn’t go very far, and it’s not very dangerous, but if it hits you right out of the barrel or close to it, it can be dangerous.
A good example is the late actor Jon-Erik Hexum, who was playing a game of Russian roulette against himself using blanks when he lost and the piece of paper in the blank hit him in the temple with enough force to shatter a ~24mm hole in his skull, causing a large hemorrhage and then death.
It makes no sense for John to be in on it. Why would he make that big speech at the grave, begging for Sherlock to still be alive, if he already knew the truth? There’s nobody else there he could be faking it for. It’s also obvious from the phone conversation-John clearly doesn’t know what’s coming. If he was in on it, why wouldn’t the converstion be more like, “Okay, I’m about to jump. Pretend to be shocked and come running over to check my pulse, and remember to kick the safety mattress out of the way,” or something similar? Again, no one else could hear what they were saying to each other.
I think the clue a lot of people probably missed is the fact that the little girl, who was kidnapped by Moriarty, screamed when she saw Sherlock.
Her screaming implies that she recognized Sherlock as the man who kidnapped her.
And since we know the real kidnapper was Moriarty, that means Moriarty had some way to disguise himself as Sherlock, a mask perhaps.
Then when Sherlock actually falls if you look closely, you’ll see the garbage truck is right on the street by “his body”.
Then right when Watson is about to see it, the biker knocks him over.
Then the garbage truck drives away when Watson is on the ground, dazed and confused.
I’m guessing Sherlock actually jumped into the garbage truck, and had padding in there to break his fall.
They used the mask to disguise a dead body as Sherlock (that is why he needed Molly’s help, to supply the body).
He needed Watson to stay where he was so:
1) there was a building blocking the spot sherlock was going to actually jump (into the garbage truck)
2) so the sniper wouldn’t see the magic trick taking place, the sniper would have his scope concentrated on Watson who would be nowhere near the fall.
And Sherlock was able to plan this elaborate scheme ahead of time, because of the convo the beginning when Moriarty was visiting Sherlock at his flat. Moriarty kept hinting at the fact that he was going to make Sherlock fall, splat. And Sherlock just put the pieces together from that.
Why does the sniper not shoot anyway? Moriarty is dead or anyway NOT there to call him back. So the suicide wouldn’t stop anything anymore. There are three snipers – not all of them in sight of the place where Sherlock falls. Why don’t the other two shoot? Are they communicating with each other without Moriarty? We see one of them packing the rifle away but not making a phone call or anything.
It’s possible that the sniper watching Sherlock jump was supposed to shoot (if sherlock did not jump) and then give the signal to the other snipers before he runs.
Yes but they might not know Moriarty is dead and they could still be thinking he was going to pay them. Because, after all, we don’t know whether he was paying them to shoot or not.
still, it seems strange that watson didn’t even bother to check if it really was him. i mean asside from the obvious height difference, he should have noticed it if it was a disguise of any sort, or at least he could have cheked in the mourge and see the body. no, insted watson became all crybaby. yeah, right.
I think the bike knocking him over was planned, AND I think at the same time he was injected with some kind of drug to make him less alert, because otherwise, yes, he’d have known. I also think Mycroft was in on this, and his “team” kept Watson from getting too close to “Sherlock”, or from examining him too long.
i think you’re right.little girl,mask,use body by molly’s help,…
but why sh. lies to j on the phone?
If they are using actual ACD canon, yes, he is dead… and good riddence.
I dont think Moriarty is dead either. The gun shot does not enter his mouth. In any event there is another foe that hardly ever gets mentioned Sebastian Moran so I think we’ll see him in series 3.
Cumberbatch is doing brilliantly in his career which is great to see.He’s a lovely guy so I wish him all the best. He’s great in the action scenes in Sherlock and I’d like to see him tackle the James Bond role. Craig cant do humour at all and Cumberbatch can do drama, action and humour. Just ideal for Bond.
He’s too skinny and weird looking for Bond. But anyone would be better than Craig.
I agree that Moran could be a villain in series 3. They gave that sniper in the final episode a decent amount of attention for just a nameless assassin.
how do you know the shot didnt enter his mouth? the camera pulls away, but sherlock is looking the whole time. if he (moriarty) tried to pull some trick, sherlock would have seen it
Sherlock closed his eyes when Moriarty “shot himself.” Hint?
best show on tv today… i want moarr!
Moffat said it will be back this year. Christmas Day I would expect.
His wife the producer said he misspoke, that it wont be back this year, but they both did say that we wouldnt have to wait 2 years again. so hopefully like spring, 2013
Anthony,
Seeing that season 2 won’t air in the US until May I would throw a spoilers warning at the top of this. I’ve seen season 2 this past weekend so no big deal for me but if anyone who hasn’t reads it especially the comments their in for a surprise.
Just a thought…..
Love this show. Best adaptation of Sherlock IMO
OMIGAWD!!! Can’t wait for series 3 now, Reichenbach practically had me in tears… I’m really looking forward to John’s raction to Holmes’ return, and I’m also hoping Lestrade will have a bigger part, I absolutely love his and Sherlock’s banter. Roll on summer 2013!!!
i live in the US, I liked both RDjr sherlock films, and my 16 year old daughter told me about this show she found on netflix, so i watched it, a week before series 2 premiered in the UK, and, well, i couldn’t wait, so thru various internet resources, i was able to see series 2, and i have to agree with several people in here, that is one of the best written and well acted television shows EVER! Those of you across the pond are lucky that your shows dont seem to be interrupted with commercial breaks. if they are, i cant tell where they go. And on a similar note, i am sad that american tv has resorted, yet again, to copying one of your fine shows and “Americanizing” it, with the silly show entitled “elementary” (even though he has never said that in any of the stories!) I know Sherlock will air on PBS here sometime in may. On the same subject, while US tv has made tons of shows based on UK shows, has UK tv ever borrowed any show ideas from here and been successful with it? or do they just broadcast ours “as is”? just curious.
Most of the US shows that are remade in the UK have been reality/game shows, but most never do that well (Family Feud managed to survive over there as Family Fortunes). For the most part, it’s cheaper to pay for the rights to air US series than to remake them.
Oh, haha… I almost forgot about their version of The Apprentice, which does very well.
Sherlock did say “Elementary” in some of the stories. But I do agree. An American version would be a waste of time.
yeah he did. once. he said “Elementary!” to Watson when he was amazed at one of his deductions. but you are kinda right. that was only one time.
For those who wonder how Sherlock survived. Look at the scene when Moriaty and Sherlock are standing on the roof top back and forth serveral times. If you still don´t see it use slowmotion.
Remember Sherlock insisted Watson to stay exactly where was when he got out of the taxi. Why? Because he wanted to make sure Watson won´t see the parked lorry filled with blue plastic bags.
Right after Watson gets up again after he got tagged by the bicicle rider (which is part of “Molly´s group helping Sherlock”) you can see a van with blue bags leaving the place where Sherlock jump into to buffer his fall. (Also listen to the sound when the bicicle rider hits watson sounded like the rider was wired to have communication with someone to time the correct moment of impact).
The blood, the medics all part of the distraction. Even when Watson was testing Sherlock pulse that was faked too.
i did see the truck (lorry) with the blue bags pull away, i guess it’s possible sherlock bounced off of it 1st. i don’t think john was in on it. i think the medics gave sherlock a shot of something to slow his pulse way down, thats why the nurse was pulling his hand away so quickly. i believe sherlock doesnt think the ruse would work if john was “in the loop”. i’m almost as anxious to see series 3 as i am to see the avengers film
When was it on Netflix? :O I haven’t seen it! And well it depends what channel it is. BBC channels do not have adverts but all others do. We have to pay a TV license to get BBC. And no I don’t think we’ve taken any US ideas. But then again one of the only newer US shows I’ve seen is White Collar and thats amazing.
I love this show but (apparently) unlike everyone else I don’t care for the shows version of Moriarty. Maybe its just how Andrew Scott looks or portrays the character but Moriarty is supposed to be a master mind and the version on SHERLOCK is more like an adolescent mad geniuses. The first time we got to see him as himself (end of season 1) he was more like a whinny brat with power then a master mind.
That’s just my take as I’m sure everyone else probably thinks he’s perfect
Now that I’ve heard the hypothesis that Holmes jumped into a bunch of bins in a truck (was it?), then it makes more sense that Watson was not in on it. I did think the bicycle bump intrusion was much more than coincidental.
There is however a clear reason why he COULD be in on it, to protect the lives of himself and the landlady. Surely you didn’t forget the assassin’s packing up their gear after determining that Holmes was dead? What makes you think they wouldn’t tail Watson afterward as well for weeks on end to ensure this was the case?
I guess I’ll have to get the first two seasons……I like a lot of BBC series, but they’re often so damn short…..Seems like you’re just getting into the season, and they have the fanale….Sounds good though
Here’s my bonkers theory:
Scott’s character is NOT Moriarty! He was a puppet manipulated by the real Moriarty.
Scott’s character’s task was to kill SH, and if he failed his family (or similar) would be killed by the real Moriarty.
I always thought it was odd that Scott / Moriarty was so unconcerned about hiding his identity.
It was odd that SH’s most famous nemesis has been killed off with a series (or more to go).
This theory would explain why.
My hope is that Mycroft is the real Moriarty.
Can’t wait to find out / be proven wrong!
You’re not bonkers. I thought the same thing. While I can see why the writers would want to bring Moriarty into the picture at the beginning of the series to just so casually toss him away seems like a red herring to me. I think he’s still out there. And the idea that it might be Mycroft sends chills up my spine. I’ve yet to see series 2 but I’m excited for it to come over here to the US (MINUS the cuts!! You hear that PBS?!)
wow. they may not have the best sibling relationship, but mycroft being moriarty seem a bit far fetched, dont you think? you overthough the whole thing. you see, that’s the problem with series that pretend to be clever. it makes people think they are clever, when really, they are not.
Wrong!
when is that next season start anyone know about that
Hmm. 2030 ? Do they mean 2013 I hope?
I don’t think I can wait that long.
really good, we r thinkng that sherlock ‘a god of really good screeeeeen ‘
we could not wait one year,
come on with season 3 this serial made my life happy
Hmmmm… from the above article, it sounds like the reason Moriarty might not return is that Andrew Scott might not want to reprise the role. Despite being an actor, he appears to like being a low-profile person, so perhaps he just wants to step away from the intense public attention the “Sherlock” series has brought him. Such a shame!! The series would just not be the same without Moriarty, and in fact, I probably won’t bother to watch, and I know I’m not alone. Until Moriarty’s appearance in the last few minutes of season one, “Sherlock” was clever, but pretty much just another detective show. But the intense conflict/attraction between Sherlock and Moriarty gives the series real emotional punch. HOPEFULLY Scott gets it out of his system and returns. I imagine that won’t happen in the next season, but hopefully after.
Read the books
2013 is too late.Release a bit sooner.We love you Sherlock.
We want to see Season 3
I really don’t think MYCROFT is Moriarty. It just doesn’t make sense. After Sherlock ‘dies’ you see Mycroft looking sad while holding a newspaper saying something like ‘detective fraud suicide’ and then sighing. It wouldn’t be true to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes. I feel like if Mycroft was Moriarty it’d be a massive let down tbh.
I think the rubbish truck theory is very likely. I think the biker who knocks down John was planned, because even in a city people don’t really get knocked down… but maybe the biker was looking at Sherlock falling?
And Sherlock asking Molly for help MUST be part of it! After all, we don’t SEE what Sherlock asked Molly for.
I can’t wait for the next season, I hope for it before 2013 but with the guys playing Sherlock and John (I forgot their names xD) taking part in films and Moffat doing Doctor Who stuff I reckon it’ll be early ’14 before a new season at the least.
One thing that has been nagging me lately(SPOILERS): when Watson is running back to the cab when he fins out Mrs Hudson wasn’t shot, you can see graffiti in the background that reads I O U, also when Moriarty is meeting Sherlock at 221B, Moriarty says “I owe you a fall, Sherlock. I owe you.” I O U keeps popping up in the episode and when Sherlock says ” If Ive got you” at the end when he realizes that if he has Moriarty his friends can live the first later of ive is I the second letter of got is O and the third letter of you is U and that is the title for a song and it has falling in the lyrics. Just something to think about
I cried at the last episode in season 2, credit to the producers and actors. Fantastic editing and acting! I love this show, it is geniusly made and i can’t wait for the next season! I am a hudge fan
I think they might add these ideas to Series 3.
The return of Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock comes back after faking his death to catch Moriarty’s first mate, Moran in the Criminal Empire thus revealing he’s alive to Watson. One of the episodes might take place in the novels “The Valley of Fear” “The sign of four”, “The adventure of the speckled band” and the Finale could be based on the story where holmes is expecting 2 men in his flat and he makes a wax model to fool the intruders. I expect Season 3 to be like the end of a trilogy before Season 4 starts as a new chapter.