Talks about a revival of the BBC’s Sherlock continue, but the latest update makes me feel relieved that it might never happen. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular and beloved literary characters, and it’s not surprising that he and his many cases have been adapted to other media for many, many years. The state of the rights to Sherlock Holmes has allowed different artists to make changes and adaptations to Holmes and company, such as modernizing them, expanding the Holmes family, and introducing new characters. Among the most successful recent adaptations of the Great Detective is the BBC’s Sherlock.

Created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, Sherlock brought the detective and other characters from Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories to modern-day London, updating many of his cases to fit the current technology and more. Sherlock aired from 2010 to 2017 for a total of four seasons, one mini-episode, and one special, and though it had a strong start, the show’s quality quickly declined following Sherlock’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) fake death in “The Reichenbach Fall”. Talks about a fifth season or a movie have happened for years, but a new update makes me feel relieved that Sherlock might never be revived.

A Sherlock Revival Seems More And More Unlikely

Sherlock’s Future Has Been Uncertain For Too Long

Sherlock premiered on the BBC in 2010 to great success, with critics praising its visual narrative, the performances of Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (Dr. John Watson), and the overall tone of the show. After a disappointing decline in seasons 3 and 4, Sherlock ended in 2017 with what’s widely regarded as the show’s worst episode, but the final scenes gave some hope for a revival at some point. In 2014, while the show was in its third season, Moffat told The Independent that he and Gatiss had already plotted seasons four and five, but the latter’s future was unclear once season 4 was released.

In 2017, Gatiss said that Sherlock season 4 might be the definitive end of the series, as even though Cumberbatch and Freeman were (supposedly) signed for five seasons, it had become increasingly difficult to bring them back together due to their busy schedules. Later that year, Gatiss gave new hope for a fifth season of Sherlock but said it would take longer than what fans expected. In 2021, Cumberbatch said that Sherlock season 5 or even a movie could happen if “the script’s right”, but emphasized that he and Freeman were too busy with other projects.

Later that year, Freeman echoed Cumberbatch’s words but added that they also had to take into account if they had outstayed their welcome with the audience. The latest update on Sherlock’s future came from Moffat in an interview with Metro, where he insisted that he would “do it tomorrow” and would love to do it again, but ultimately, the problem continues to be how busy Cumberbatch and Freeman are.

Sherlock Season 4 Makes Me Not Want Another Season (Or Movie)

Sherlock Hit Rock Bottom With Season 4

As much as I feel Sherlock deserves redemption for the disasters that were seasons 3 and 4, the latter was so bad and disappointing that it makes me not want a revival of any kind. As a fan of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books, Sherlock was an exciting take on the characters and their stories, and the way the show represented Sherlock’s train of thought and deduction process was absolutely amazing. Like every other Sherlock viewer, I was emotionally destroyed by “The Reichenbach Fall” and spent countless hours reading the most creative and amazing theories on how Sherlock survived the fall.

My first disappointment with Sherlock was its “explanation” of how he faked his death. The series never actually explained it and left it open to the audience’s interpretation, as Anderson (bless his soul) may or may not have hallucinated Sherlock explaining how he did it. Sherlock season 3 quickly left that behind and went straight to introducing Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington) and giving her an unnecessary villainous twist. On top of all that, Sherlock gradually forgot what makes the detective such an interesting character, and he was completely different from season 1’s Sherlock by the time season 4 arrived.

Sherlock season 4’s biggest crime was introducing Eurus Holmes, the “secret” and highly problematic sister of Sherlock and Mycroft. Eurus’ presence made no sense and she was the mastermind of the most nonsensical “trap” in the whole series, leaving Sherlock with the most underwhelming, confusing, and frustrating series finale.

If Sherlock season 5 or a movie happened, it would have to do a lot of damage control, and as much as I would love to see Cumberbatch and Freeman again as Sherlock and Watson, a revival is a lot riskier than it seems thanks to everything seasons 3 and 4 messed with. A Sherlock revival also has time against itself, as too long has passed since the disaster that was season 4, and my fellow Sherlock enthusiasts might not be interested in it anymore.

BBC’s Sherlock Already Has Different Replacements

Sherlock Holmes Is Getting Many More Adaptations

Another reason why Sherlock doesn’t need a revival of any kind is that there’s already plenty of Sherlock Holmes content that can replace it. The most exciting current Sherlock Holmes-related project is the Enola Holmes movie series, based on the book series The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer. Enola Holmes introduces Sherlock and Mycroft’s youngest sister (but one much better than Eurus), who becomes a detective like her famous brother following their mother’s disappearance. The success of Enola Holmes led to a sequel, and a third movie is in the works.

Another upcoming Sherlock Holmes project that expands the detective’s personal life is The CW’s TV series Sherlock & Daughter, starring David Thewlis as Holmes and Blu Hunt as the young woman who believes she might be his daughter. The CBS will bring a TV series centered on John Watson (and simply titled Watson), which is described as a medical procedural series. Morris Chestnut will play Watson, and it will focus on his work after the death of his famous best friend, as well as on his ongoing battle with Moriarty.

Last but not least is Young Sherlock. The series will have Guy Ritchie as director and will be released on Prime Video, but despite Ritchie’s involvement, it’s unrelated to his Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr. Young Sherlock is based on the young adult novels of the same name by Andrew Lane, and will follow the detective in the 1860s and 1870s as he solves various mysteries. There will be plenty of Sherlock Holmes content in the near future, leaving no room (or interest) for a Sherlock revival if it finally makes it out of development hell.

Source: The Independent, Metro.