It's not a secret that "Sherlock" season 4 went through some scheduling nightmare because of its busy cast.
However, showrunners Steven Moffatt and Mark Gatiss were able to not only work around a workable timetable for Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, they also managed to score a special Christmas episode for the BBC show.
Fans usually had to wait for two years to see the next instalment of the crime drama, while rumors of its demise keep coming every year.
The series always comes back with a vengeance, however, hooking its viewers with its humor and mysteries all over again.
With its lead characters' busy schedules and growing popularity, can producers still follow up "Sherlock" season 4 with more episodes in the future?
According to previous reports, Cumberbatch and Freeman, who plays Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson respectively, keep coming back for the "acting challenge."
"They don't need the money," Moffat previously said. "What we give them in terms of money isn't something they'd regard as a significant fee anymore. We're making this in a shed in Wales. We think really carefully about giving them something to play because they're both amazing actors."
After all, the series also helped catapult both actors into superstardom even though its success was reportedly a surprise to its producers.
Mark Gatiss told Digital Spy that they had "high hopes" for the series and they are also "very proud" of what it has become but they didn't have a "concept it would [become such a hit]."
"We've only made ten, and the tenth one hasn't even been on yet!" the producer and actor said. "But it's extraordinary, the extent to which people have taken it to their hearts, and again, it's a BBC world beater! An absolutely amazing thing to have done, and to be part of. So yeah, we're all constantly thrilled, and amazed again by people's enthusiasm for it - and we hope to carry on as long as we can."
"Sherlock" season 4 will allegedly air in 2017. On the other hand, a Christmas special will be aired later this year.
