'Sherlock: The Abominable Bride' Air Date set for January 2016 (VIDEO)

By Dondi Tiples, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, October 28, 2015

BBC has announced "Sherlock" will return for its New Year special, "The Abominable Bride," that's scheduled to air early next year.

PBS Masterpiece and BBC's detective crime drama, "Sherlock" will have a New Year's special set in Victorian London that will premiere on January 1 next year, BBC said in an announcement released via its Twitter account.

The extended 90-minute episode is scheduled to air simultaneously in both the UK and US, the first time it has happened in the series. The special is also set to be screened in theaters.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting the next "Sherlock" episode" after the show, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular Sherlock and Martin Freeman as his sidekick, Watson, debuted its Series 3 in January 2014.

BBC has released a full trailer for the New Year's special, which reveals some of the episode's storyline extended from a teaser the network launched in 2014. While the producers of the show have declined to comment on the upcoming special's content, talk has emerged it is set to be a stand-alone episode and will not be part of the forthcoming three-episode run scheduled for Series 4 of the show.

"The Abominable Bride" will star Amanda Abbington, Rupert Graves, and Una Stubbs, and shows Sherlock Holmes looking into a past teeming with ghosts and admitting no one has made him the way he is except himself.

The show's producers are currently working on Series 4, which is set to commence filming in spring 2016 and will start airing at an as-yet-unannounced date in 2017.

The critically-acclaimed show, which initially launched its Series 1 in July 2010, has been highly praised, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe award, an Emmy award, and a BAFTA.

"The Abominable Bride" premieres on January 1, 2016, Friday on PBS' "Masterpiece Mystery" at 9:00pm ET/PT, and will also be available simultaneously online at pbs.org/masterpiece. The special will likewise air its rerun on January 10, 2016, Sunday at 10pm ET/PT.