It's Elementary: Sherlock Set to Return for Series 3

Series 2 of Sherlock concluded this past weekend in the UK to excellent ratings, loads of critical acclaim and a generally rapturous fan reaction all over the internet.  While Americans have to wait until May 6 (109 days!) to see the drama’s second season for themselves, a happy piece of news has surfaced that might make everyone feel a little (a lot) better while they’re counting down the days.

Immediately after the conclusion of the second series finale, titled The Reichenbach Fall, Sherlock co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss both tweeted some fantastic news - Series 3 of the popular detective drama is confirmed.

This news comes despite some…how shall we put this…delicately phrased statements to the press from both cast and crew in the days leading up to the finale which implied that the second series might be Sherlock’s last.  But, apparently, Series 3 has always been planned. Both showrunners confirmed that a third outing was commissioned by the BBC at the same time as Series 2. Basically, this means everyone involved did a fairly masterful job of keeping this news under wraps all year, so, well played, gentlemen!

No word yet on when we can expect the third series of Sherlock on either side of the pond. It's looking like early in 2013 as the soonest possibility, though it’s likely that Series 3 could get pushed back a bit further than that, due to the schedules of all involved.

Moffat will have to juggle some heavy Doctor Who production (rumor has it that they’re shooting the entire next 13 episode season in one go), and stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are both busy doing some major Hollywood filming (Star Trek and The Hobbit) for the next few months. Neither actor has commented on Series 3 as yet, though  they’ve both said they’d like to do it in recent interviews, and, well, it’s doubtful that we’d be making a third season without Sherlock or John.  Thus, the (waiting) game is on!