Sherlock Season 5? Why Cumberbatch’s Holmes Returning Would Be A Mistake

The BBC’s Sherlock was a favorite among fans of Sherlock Holmes, and while there have been a lot of rumors about a fifth season 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, and that happened 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 the modern day. Sherlock was praised for its stories and the performances of its main cast, and 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, with Sherlock seizing the technology of the modern era and adding 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 the show’s quality in its 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 (as that was the time between the first three seasons), 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 that he’s still open to reviving Sherlock, but reminded the audience that, at the end of the day, it all depends on Cumberbatch and Martin’s availability.

Sherlock Seasons 3 & 4 Did Too Much Damage To The Show

As mentioned above, the final seasons of Sherlock weren’t at the level of the first two, which led to a lot of 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 focused on the introduction of Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington) and the twist of her having a criminal past. 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 very first episode was based on A Study In Scarlet, season 2’s premiere episode on “A Scandal in Bohemia”, and 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 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 of critics and viewers, but it did one thing right: give the show a true ending. Sherlock season 4’s finale was, by far, the messiest and most unbelievable episode in the whole series, with Eurus kidnapping Mycroft (Gatiss), Sherlock, and Watson and forcing them into sinister games to save their lives, but everything Eurus set up was incredibly hard to believe. Once the mess was over, Eurus was locked up in a mental institution again, but Sherlock visited her sometimes and they played the violin together for their parents and Mycroft, while John 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 even if season 4 damaged the show, 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 being in danger all the time, which is what they deserved after everything they went through.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3267 Articles Published)

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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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