Sherlock co-creator and co-writer Mark Gatiss has admitted that while a fifth season of the hit British series is possible, it would most probably take several years before it gets into fruition. The show, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the contemporary reincarnation of the gifted detective Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman who plays his trustee companion, Dr. John Watson, has just aired its fourth season in January with a fitting ending which would pass as its overall final episode.

It is no secret how the BBC program went to great lengths just to put Sherlock's fourth season into production and eventual rollout. The show's latest installment had a three-year in-between hiatus from its predecessor, outside of 2016's Christmas special - "The Abominable Bride" - which is a period piece and not a direct continuation of the show. Its delay was mainly rooted in scheduling conflicts with both Cumberbatch and Freeman busy with other projects. The struggle was so serious that it even got to a point where Gatiss said, in two separate interviews, that it's probably high time to "just leave it. Fortunately, in a new statement, the producer sounds more optimistic about the possibility of another Sherlock season, it would just take a lot of time and patience from the fans.

Sitting down with Radio Times, Gatiss has opened up on when we can expect the next installment of the mystery-thriller. He has admitted that the wait for Sherlock season 5 would be "even longer" than what fans had to endure in its last outing. He has also revealed that there are “no immediate plans" for a return to 221B Baker Street.

Despite this, fans can take comfort in Gatiss' additional comment about everyone involved willing and eager to come back to the series, including two of its lead actors:

“Everyone’s really very up for it; it’s just so very difficult to schedule everyone. It’s just so hard to get Benedict and Martin’s diaries to align. And there’s always the Fawlty Towers principle of just leaving it where it is. I think in a few years time [if] we came back and said, ‘Shall we do another one?’ I think everyone would be very happy to.”

Sherlock The Final Problem

Cumberbatch and Freeman are both busy with their respective Marvel Studios projects (among other things) - the former plays the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Stephen Strange and the latter takes on the role of C.I.A. elite agent, Everett K. Ross. Cumberbatch is currently working on filming for next year's epic blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War and its 2019 sequel, the still untitled Avengers 4. Freeman, on the other hand, has a significant bit in Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther due for a theatrical rollout this February.

The threat of the series being wrapped up altogether just because of scheduling problems says a whole lot given that each season of the show consists of just three episodes - a far number from the usual 12-22 full seasons that normal TV programs have per outing. Nevertheless, the long wait is obviously a much better option for die-hard Sherlock fans than a definitive no to a fifth season.

We'll keep you updated on Sherlock as more information becomes available.

MORE: Sherlock Season 5 - Where Can The Show Go From Here?

Source: Radio Times