The fourth BBC’s Sherlock is slated to debut early next year and it may be the last season of the series. After receiving six Emmy nominations for its one-episode special Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, co-creator, writer and executive producer Steven Moffat raised some uncertainties about the show’s future.
"I don't know how long we can keep it going. I'm personally willing but I'm hardly the main draw," Moffat told The Telegraph. "I would be moderately surprised if this was the last time we ever made this show. But it absolutely could be."
In the past, the creative team has mentioned the show’s future lies solely in the hands of the lead actors: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, who play Sherlock and Dr. Watson, respectively.
“We do have two film stars in the programme,” said Moffat to The Telegraph. “They haven’t needed to do these jobs for a very long time. They’re coming back because they want to. There’s never going to come a time when we do a longer run, because this is what the series has become. It’s an occasional treat where you get three movies. It’s how it works.”
But Moffat also notes that it is not unusual for the show to take a hiatus and pop back up when stars align, hinting that it’s not necessarily all over.
"That's why I think it's unlikely that we've completely finished it. There would be nothing strange in stopping for a while," he said. "It could go on forever, coming back now and again."
Cumberbatch received an Emmy nomination earlier this week for Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie for his work in Sherlock: The Abominable Bride. The Victorian-themed special episode was also nominated for Outstanding TV Movie and received nominations for cinematography, visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing.
Sherlock Season 4 is slated to debut early 2017.
