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The BBC’s Sherlock was a favorite among fans of Sherlock Holmes, and while there have been a lot of rumors about a Sherlock season 5 for years, the truth is that the return of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes would be a mistake. Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular and beloved characters in literature, and his success has been such that he and his most memorable cases have been adapted to all types of media for over a century.
However, not every Sherlock Holmes adaptation has been fully loyal to the source material, and many of them have made big changes to the characters and stories to give them some freshness. This was certainly the case with the BBC’s adaptation. Simply titled Sherlock, and created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, the series brought the Great Detective (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his partner and friend John Watson (Martin Freeman) to modern-day London, adapting some of their most popular cases to contemporary times. Sherlock was praised for its stories and the performances of its main cast, but while it was a success with the audience, it was also heavily criticized during its final seasons.
Sherlock aired from 2010 to 2017 for four seasons, one mini-episode, and a special episode, and while the first two seasons were very well-received by critics and viewers, the final seasons weren’t as successful, and the fourth season was heavily criticized. Still, rumors about Sherlock season 5 have been floating around for years, with Gatiss and Moffat giving fans hope from time to time, but ultimately, Sherlock season 5 would now be a mistake.
Will Sherlock Season 5 Happen? Updates & What We Know
Sherlock succeeded in bringing the Great Detective to the present day and adapting his cases to the modern world. Sherlock himself seized the technology of the modern era and the show added current social issues and more to the cases to make them more grounded. This, along with Cumberbatch and Freeman’s performances, was key to Sherlock’s success, so it’s not surprising that fans would still want a fifth season despite the decrease in quality in the show’s final episodes. Talks about Sherlock season 5 began in 2017, not long after season 4 aired, and the main problem from the beginning was Cumberbatch and Freeman’s schedules. Their careers took off during Sherlock, and they are both now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in addition to other projects, so it’s understandable that finding a schedule that works for everyone has been difficult.
In 2017, Gatiss said Sherlock season 5 could take “even longer” than two years, and in 2021, Cumberbatch said he would be up for a fifth season, but he, Freeman, and “all the other key players” were quite busy at the time. Cumberbatch suggested Sherlock season 5 could instead be a movie, and not long after, Freeman also said he would be up for it, but didn’t seem hopeful about it happening soon. In April 2022, Moffat insisted he’s still open to reviving Sherlock, but reminded the audience that, at the end of the day, it all depends on Cumberbatch and Freeman’s availability.
Sherlock Seasons 3 & 4 Did Too Much Damage To The Show
As mentioned, the final seasons of Sherlock didn’t hold up to the first two, which led to much criticism and disappointment. Sherlock season 3 covered the return of the Great Detective after his supposed death in season 2’s finale “The Reichenbach Fall,” but the series failed to give a proper explanation of how Sherlock faked his death so well. With Sherlock back, the series then shifted its focus somewhat to the introduction of Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington) and the twist of her having a criminal past. And although Sherlock season 3 was messy, it was nothing compared to season 4, which saw the death of Mary (who jumped in front of a bullet to save Sherlock) and introduced Eurus Holmes (Sian Brooke), the third Holmes sibling who up to that point had never been mentioned, making her whole arc unbelievable and absurd. Sherlock season 4 also continued season 3’s failed attempts to add more humor and made Sherlock’s deduction skills completely unbelievable, hurting everything Sherlock built in its first two seasons – and while it’s understandable that after such failures fans would like to see a new season, it’s too late for that and would only keep damaging the series.
Most Of Sherlock’s Best Cases Have Already Been Used
Of course, Sherlock took a lot of inspiration from the works of Conan Doyle and made a bunch of changes to them to adapt them to the modern world, and in some cases, only the titles of the episodes were based on Holmes’ cases. One of the biggest questions when talking about Sherlock season 5 is what the main plot of the season could be, and the truth is that there’s little the show could do now, as the detective’s best cases have already been used. For example, Sherlock’s pilot episode was based on A Study In Scarlet, season 2’s premiere episode riffed on “A Scandal in Bohemia,” there’s an episode based on The Hound of the Baskervilles, and even the series finale referenced many other popular cases right at the end. Surely, there are still some cases Sherlock could use, and the show could even come up with original ones, but a big part of the charm of the series was seeing those classic cases playing out in the modern world.
Sherlock Season 4 Gave The Show A True Ending (Despite Problems)
Sherlock season 4 wasn’t a favorite for critics and viewers, but it did one thing right: giving the show a true ending. Sherlock season 4’s finale was the messiest and most implausible episode in the whole series by far, with Eurus kidnapping Mycroft (Gatiss), Sherlock, and Watson and forcing them into sinister games to save their lives. However, everything Eurus set up felt like a colossal shark jump. Once the mess was over, Eurus was once more locked up in a mental institution, but Sherlock visited her sometimes, and they played the violin together for their parents and Mycroft. John also found a video message from Mary encouraging him to keep working with Sherlock, and the detective and the doctor continued working together in many, many more cases. Sherlock season 5, then, isn’t necessary at all, as the series was ultimately given a proper ending with no loose ends, and Sherlock and Watson could finally continue working together without their lives constantly being in danger, which is what they deserved after everything they went through.
Making More Sherlock Would Simply Be A Rights Cop-out
For all of the above reasons, there’s very little motivating a Sherlock season 5, since the actors are busy, there’s no more story to tell, and the show already hit a downward trend from which it could struggle to return. As such, the only real reason for the BBC to keep making Sherlock would be that Doyle’s works are in the public domain, and Sherlock Holmes is, therefore, one of the cheapest IPs on which to base televisual materials. As driving factors go, though, this idea does little to inspire faith that Sherlock season 5 would actually be worth the investment or lead to a high-quality end product.
Because Sherlock Holmes belongs to the public domain, there will probably always be new adaptations of the character, and this is for the best. Each iteration of Holmes in the past few decades, whether Cumberbatch’s, Robert Downey Jr.’s, Johnny Lee Miller’s, or Henry Cavill’s, has brought something unique and interesting to the table, which helps keep the character and his world fresh and exciting. The BBC’s Sherlock seems to have clearly run its course and should instead take a step back and let new adaptations take the spotlight.
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