A year after its last episode, Sherlock will be back. With Benedict Cumberbatch’s Great Detective called back from exile, he and John Watson (Martin Freeman) – not to mention the entire country – must wait to find out what Moriarty’s (Andrew Scott) plan entails. Until then: Maggie Thatcher.
Coming to BBC1 on 1st January 2017, The Six Thatchers sees us rejoin the regular cast, but with so little known about the show’s fourth series, fans are left to gobble up every small detail from the synopsis, released by the BBC:

In episode one of this new series, written by Mark Gatiss, Sherlock waits to see where Moriarty will make his posthumous move.

One mysterious case in particular baffles Scotland Yard – but Sherlock is more interested in a seemingly-trivial detail. Why is someone destroying images of the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher? Is there a madman on the loose? Or is there a much darker purpose at work? Something with its roots deep in Mary Watson’s past…

Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Sherlock Holmes, with Martin Freeman as John Watson, Mark Gatiss as Mycroft, Rupert Graves as Inspector Lestrade, Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson, Amanda Abbington as Mary Watson, and Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper.

Great to see the gang back together, but it doesn’t sound too promising for Mary, does it? Especially if you know Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories…
The episode is loosely based on The Adventure of the Six Napoleons, in which someone goes around smashing the busts of Napoleon; from the outset, the new adaptation seems to rile up the Daily Mail, which is pleasing, don’t you think?
Sherlock: The Six Thatchers airs from 8.30pm to 10pm on BBC1 on New Year’s Day.