'Sherlock' Season 5 Renewal News: Martin Freeman Gives Another Reason Series Is Unlikely to Return
Fans would not want to get their hopes up with regards to "Sherlock" season 5, as Martin Freeman admitted to losing interest in doing the BBC drama.
In an interview with Telegraph, Freeman, who plays the role of Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock, said that some fans are taking the fun out the show.
"Um ... I think after series four [it] felt like a pause. I think we felt we'd done it for a bit now. And part of it, speaking for myself is [due to] the reception of it," the actor told the publication.
Freeman admitted that he is not too thrilled about the expectations that some demanding "Sherlock" fans put on them. The actor said that these expectations tend to become borderline arm-twisting.
"Being in that show, it is a mini-Beatles thing. People's expectations, some of it's not fun anymore. It's not a thing to be enjoyed, it's a thing of: 'You better f—— do this, otherwise you're a c—.' That's not fun anymore," the actor explained.
The fourth season of "Sherlock" has been criticized for failing to keep up with its previous runs in terms of quality. Freeman said that he understands this seeing that the show started huge, which resulted in the pressure of sustaining such a high standard of production..
He compared it to "The Office," the comedy series by Ricky Gervais that became a launching pad for his career, in a way he described as a "slow burn."
"But 'Sherlock' was frankly notably high quality from the outset. And when you start [that high] it's pretty hard to maintain that," the actor continued.
While the fate of "Sherlock" season 5 is not sealed yet, series co-creator Mark Gatiss hinted that its return is becoming less of a possibility since they have yet overcome the biggest hurdle, which is working out the schedules of Freeman, Cumberbatch as well as that of his co-creator Steven Moffat.