“Sherlock” season 5 is really taking a long time to return. Fans are clamoring for this detective drama to continue but BBC has not renewed the show yet.
It has been more than three years since the fourth installment ended and cancellation rumors are already cropping up because of this. While it is easy to see why many people already assumed that “Sherlock” season 5 has been axed already, it should be noted that its showrunners Matt Gattis and Steven Moffat stated that they can still do it but they are just not sure when that would be.
BBC’s stance on the show’s renewal
BBC Network has not renewed “Sherlock” season 5 yet but it did not cancel it either. It also assured fans in the past that the drama could return but it is really up to the showrunners.
The network made this statement around the time when it gave Moffat and Gattis a new project to work on which is “Dracula.” Clearly, BBC said that the fifth season of “Sherlock” is welcome to return once the showrunners inform them that they are ready.
The Martin Freeman and the showrunners’ comments on the series’ return
Both Moffat and Gattis said that they have yet to sit down and discuss about “Sherlock” season 5. Since they are both busy, they did not have the time to make plans for it yet but this does not mean that they have already abandoned the series.
“I haven't really thought about it,” Moffat told Digital Spy. “Mark has been doing other stuff as well, so we haven't sat down and had a proper talk about what we would do with another series."
Meanwhile, Martin Freeman who plays John H. Watson also said that he can still appear in “Sherlock” season 5. In his interview with Collider, he shared that he knows the drama is really popular around the world but then, he can only return again if the next episodes would really offer something very special.
“If it’s something really special, and if it’s something really meaty and interesting, then I think we’d all be open to that,” the actor shared. “It always felt like an event, so if we do more, it has to be worthy of that. We couldn’t come back with something that was quite good. It would have to feel really, really special. It was that kind of show.”
