The Future

The success of both series means that further episodes are guaranteed - Sherlock has been renewed for a further two seasons. As before, Season Three is made of up a trio of episodes: The Empty Hearse by Mark Gatiss, The Sign of Three by Steve Thompson and His Last Vow by Steven Moffat. Watson’s bride Mary Morstan will appear, played by Martin Freeman’s real-life partner Amanda Abbington. The final episode will feature Sherlock’s interpretation of “the worst man in London,” media baron Charles Augusts Magnussen, as portrayed by Lars Mikkelsen.

At the time of writing, Season Two of Elementary has yet to air, but as has been well-recorded elsewhere, the first episode, Step Nine, takes place in London, and given that shooting there took place at the height of a heatwave, might give American viewers a very different impression of the British climate. The ninth step of the AA program for recovering addicts, by the way, is to make amends to those the addict may have harmed, which gives some indication of what may occur. Sean Pertwee will play Inspector Gareth Lestrade (pronounced “Lestrarde” again) and Rhys Ifans is brother Mycroft, whom Sherlock addresses as “Fatty.” The plot of this first episode will involve gossip-monger Langdale Pike, mentioned but unseen in The Three Gables. A DCI Hopkins (Tim McMullen), named after the Canon’s Stanley Hopkins will also feature in some way. Perhaps most importantly, the writers have revealed via Twitter that the standout character of Season One, Clyde the Tortoise, will reappear.

All this, and the possibility of a third Victorian-era movie starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law? The near-future for Sherlock Holmes appears very bright, and I, for one, can’t get enough of it.