Sherlock Season 3 Premieres on PBS on January 19, 2014

A date has been set for the return of one of television’s most eagerly anticipated shows: Sherlock Season 3 will premiere on MASTERPIECE on PBS on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 10pm, following the 9pm broadcast ofDownton Abbey. 

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Fifth Estate, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Office UK) return as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in three new 90-minute episodes of the contemporary reinvention of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic, created by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss.

“The genius Sherlock team has done it again,” says MASTERPIECE executive producer Rebecca Eaton. “These new episodes are as wildly-imaginative and brilliantly-produced as all the others. These people are GOOD!”

Nearly 11 million viewers tuned into the second season of Sherlock, which ended with one of the most shocking cliffhangers in television history. Fans flocked to the internet to speculate about Sherlock’s “demise,” and express their eagerness to find out what happens next.

“We love that Sherlock fans are so passionate and eager to see Season 3,” says PBS Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming Beth Hoppe. “The pairing of Downton Abbeyand Sherlock in January offers a blockbuster night of British drama only on PBS stations.”

"We are hugely excited about this next series of Sherlock, and have worked closely with our partners, MASTERPIECE and PBS, to bring these episodes to U.S. audiences in January," says Sue Vertue, executive producer for Sherlock and Hartswood Films, which coproduces Sherlock with MASTERPIECE and BBC Wales for BBC One. "We promise our fans that Season 3 is worth waiting for."

Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated and winner of a Peabody Award, Sherlock has been a television sensation since the first season aired in 2010, with critics calling it "triumphant" (Hollywood Reporter), "crackling with imagination" (San Francisco Chronicle), and "seduction through deduction" (Los Angeles Times).

Sherlock helped make megastars of Cumberbatch and Freeman, whose portrayals of the famous crime fighting duo USA Today described as “two of the best performances you’ll see anywhere.”

As in previous seasons, titles for the three episodes are pegged to a classic Sherlock Holmes title by Arthur Conan Doyle—delightfully, wittily, and briskly updated, of course.

“The Empty Hearse” – Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 10pm on MASTERPIECE

“The Sign of Three” – Sunday, January 26, 2014 at 10pm on MASTERPIECE

“His Last Vow” – Sunday, February 2, 2014 at 10pm on MASTERPIECE

Sherlock Season 3 is a Hartswood Films and BBC Wales production for BBC One, in coproduction with MASTERPIECE. It was created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and inspired by the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The executive producers are Beryl Vertue, Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue and Rebecca Eaton for MASTERPIECE.

source: PBS Masterpiece