Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman will be coming back as a tandem again this year for the highly-anticipated "Sherlock" Christmas special.
However, there's a slight difference to the release scheme for this particular episode.
According to The Independent, the holiday offering will be screened in various cinemas in China. Whether that same courtesy will be replicated in other parts of the world still remains to be seen.
BBC reportedly closed a deal with the Shanghai Media Group to have the "Sherlock" Christmas special released in various theatres in China, assuming that it will pass the country's regulations and censors.
The site further noted that the said deal pushed through despite the broadcast station's accusation of "deliberate censorship" to the Chinese authority last year. The country had reportedly been blocking BBC's Chinese-speaking channel since it was launched.
Could this be the opening for the Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss-produced series to get a full-length film for an even wider audience?
After all, its lead characters are already certifiable movie stars. Cumberbatch was even nominated for Best Actor at last year's Oscar for portraying Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game." On the other hand, Martin achieved worldwide recognition for his role as Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit" trilogy.
BBC released trailers for the special but no UK air date has been announced yet. Moffat did reveal, however, that the air date for the one-off episode will not be on Dec. 25, but it will be "around that time of year."
Meanwhile, Amanda Abbington, who plays Mary Watson in the modernized version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic tale, told RadioTimes recently that the "Sherlock" Christmas special will be different from what fans have in mind.
"People say the perfect thing was that Sherlock was modern day," she said. "But I know what's happened. There's more to this... Although I can say that it's great."
Watch the trailer below.
