James R | On 05, Nov 2013

The first official image of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in Sherlock Season 3 has been released by the BBC.

It’s been almost two years since Sherlock had a very grave encounter with Moriarty atop St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have kept tight-lipped about how the detective survived. The new picture, though, confirms that he did – and whets the appetite for his eventual reunion with John Watson.

How did he do it? How will John react? And, more importantly, what will Sherlock do when he finds out John is now with Mary Morstan? The BBC tease Watson’s new companion as “sensible, quick-witted and not at all taken in by Sherlock’s posturing”.

The new season of the BBC’s hugely successful modern update starts with The Empty Hearse, written by Mark Gatiss, continuing the BBC show’s tradition of clever puns on Arthur Conan Doyle’s original titles (this episode is based on The Adventure of the Empty House). The other episodes are called The Sign of Three and His Last Vow.

Moffar, co-executive producer, co-writer and co-creator with Gatiss, says: “It’s been a long time since Sherlock Holmes jumped off that roof – it’s time to reveal the truth about what happened between him and the pavement.”

Gatiss adds: “Sherlock and John Watson are back at last! And they’re just where we want them – on the streets of London having mad, thrilling adventures.”

There is no news yet on the UK broadcast date, but with a US premiere set for January 2014, you can deduce that it won’t be long. Until then, you can catch up
with the show on blinkbox and iTunes:

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