Boy, that Benedict Cumberbatch is a busy bee. Just days after making the streets of NYC a little Strange-r, the Sherlock star is back abroad, kicking off production on the fourth season of the detective’s modern adventures. That said, why do we get the feeling Season 4 might be Sherlock and Watson’s final case?

The BBC, creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat officially announced a start to Season 4 production, likely placing the season premiere sometime in 2017. In addition to confirming that the first of three new feature-length episodes will be helmed by Doctor Who and The Flash director Rachel Talalay, so reads the early, vague synopsis:

Sherlock will return to screens with three brand-new episodes promising laughter, tears, shocks, surprises and extraordinary cases…

Series four begins with the nation’s favourite detective, the mercurial Sherlock Holmes, back once more on British soil, as Doctor Watson and his wife, Mary, prepare for their biggest ever challenge - becoming parents for the first time.

Then again, this quote from writer-executive producers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss teases perhaps a certain plateau for Sherlock overall:

Sherlock series four - here we go again! Whatever else we do, wherever we all go, all roads lead back to Baker Street - and it always feels like coming home. Ghosts of the past are rising in the lives of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson bringing adventure, romance and terror in their wake. This is the story we’ve been telling from the beginning. A story about to reach its climax…

When last we heard, showrunner Steven Moffat had plotted through a potential fifth season of the series, to say nothing of additional specials in the vein of The Abominable Bride. Along with the surprise resurrection of Season 3 finale “His Last Vow,” Moffat also specified that Sherlock Season 4 would likely see increased roles for the women of the series, particularly Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey) and Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs).

In the meantime, we’ll see Sherlock and Watson hanging around the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Martin Freeman’s role in Captain America: Civil War, and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, but stay tuned for the latest Sherlock Season 4 updates.

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