Greetings from your resident Sherlock expert, who though was told by many fellow critics and reporters that Sherlock would not be back anytime soon, remained loyal to the series and hopeful for its return.
And I was rewarded!
Well, sort of.

Last week, on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday (aka International Sherlock Holmes Day), show creators Steven Moffatt & Mark Gatiss released a cryptic video detailing a new Sherlock…something. They called it an “adventure,” but didn’t say exactly what it was — though they swore it was was not a new season or a movie (DANG IT.). They are simply calling it “The Game Is Now”. They did say that it was coming to London in 2018, and that you needed to sign up to have access to it. You can sign up to learn more here: https://www.thegameisnow.com/.

When you sign up, you are then sent this video — an intercepted transmission between Mycroft & Sherlock Holmes (How exciting to hear those spectacular characters again!):

So from this clip we can gather that they asking some “real people” for help with a mystery, which leads me to believe that it is some sort of ARG. ARG stands for Augmented Reality Game, which basically means a video game played with real people. It could be a series of clues left on the site that people must then run around London to find, or a faux crime scene set up in the city somewhere. Since the end of season 4 back in 2017, the hard-core Sherlock fans (including myself) have theorized about the existence of a Sherlock ARG.

But upon further digging, some super sleuths discovered that this new site was in part developed by a London based company called Secret Cinema, which is a really awesome event group that puts on unique fan experiences for various films and shows. If this really is a Sherlock Secret Cinema, I would be more than pleased.

Either way, it seems that the event will take place exclusively in London, so fans that don’t live there or can’t get there will just have to experience the fun online.

Personally, I’m hoping that this event leads to some announcement about a season 5, but I’ll be ok if it doesn’t because I’m just happy that we’re getting anything at all. The Sherlock fandom is well accustomed to long waits in between seasons, but it was always on the assurance that it was coming back at some point.

I still have faith that it’s coming back, and perhaps this new adventure is the first clue.
Get ready for #TheGameIsNow!