‘Sherlock’ Season 4 Spoilers: Air Date And 4 Other Things To Know About The Premiere

Sherlock Holmes is read to solve his next mystery. Aside from a holiday special last January, which took place in an alternate timeline, “Sherlock” has not aired a new season since 2014. PBS finally announced when “Sherlock” Season 4 will premiere, so fans everywhere can officially set the countdowns.

“Sherlock” Season 4 will debut on Sunday, Jan. 1 on PBS in the U.S., the same day British fans get to watch it on BBC. Sherlockians don’t have to wait until January to get the scoop on the premiere, though. Season 4 started filming in April, and a few spoilers have been let out already. Find out what we know about “Sherlock” Season 4, episode 1 below:

Title — Episode 1 will be called “The Six Thatchers.” The names always are a play on Arthur Conan Doyle’s original titles. It seems this is paying homage to “The Adventure of the Six Napoleans.” Oddly, Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman) have already solved a case involved six thatchers, according to BBC’s official Watson blog.

Director — Rachel Talalay, who has worked on other cult shows like “Doctor Who” and “The Flash,” will helm the first of three 90-minute episodes.

Enemies — The villain that Toby Jones is playing will not be introduced until the second episode. It seems Moriarty (Andrew Scott) could be the main nemesis in the premiere. Though whether he’ll actually be alive in the episode is another question since the character died in Season 3. Showrunner Steven Moffat said that ghosts would be a prominent theme, which might be a major hint about the season’s villains.

“Ghosts of the past are rising in the lives of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson bringing adventure, romance and terror in their wake,” he said in a press release. “This is the story we’ve been telling from the beginning and it’s about to reach its climax.”

A New Poster — PBS released a new poster along with the air date information. There is a violin with a broken string, and it’s safe to say that it’s probably related to the premiere. How, though, is not yet clear.

“Sherlock” fans will speculate plenty in between now and January, and it likely won’t be the last time they’re searching for spoilers. Though rumors were swirling that the show might end, Cumberbatch clarified that the cast and crew hasn’t given up yet. However, they are likely going to take another extended hiatus.

“We won’t be doing one immediately after this one airs. That’s all I meant,” Cumberbatch told BBC2 Radio. “We never ever say never on that show. We love doing it.”

“Sherlock” Season 4 premieres Sunday, Jan. 1 on PBS.