Sherlock Season 4 Release Date: Towards the end of last "Sherlock" actor Benedict Cumberbatch sparked rumors about Sherlock Holmes' sexual orientation when he was comparing the sleuth character to Dr. Who.

On a Nerdist podcast, the British actor talked about the similarities between Sherlock and Doctor Who, saying "One uses a sonic screwdriver and time travel and the other uses his brain and isn't 900 years old and isn't reincarnated. Sherlock talks fast and is clever, that's literally the only bracket they share. They've got different dress senses, different tastes in the sex of their partners..."

Comparing "Doctor Who" and "Sherlock," Cumberbatch stated, "They've got different dress senses, different taste in the sex of their partners..." The co-creator of the series Steven Moffat has challenged those claims.

While some thought Cumberbatch's statement was referring to Sherlock and The Doctor's tastes in procedural partners, others assumed that Cumberbatch was implying that Sherlock was gay. Often, this misconception is toyed with during the series, but this doesn't mean that he's gay.

BBC Sherlock's creator, Steven Moffat recently explained the comments during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, sayubg "We haven't started writing it yet, so it's early. The first series was all about the beginning of their friendship. Second about the formative stages, the love and fear and loss and all that. The third was good days, me and my pal and my pal's wife. Those are golden days. The missing element in a lot of Sherlock Holmes adaptations is allowing it to be funny. There's a lot of humor in Sherlock Holmes, and it's ignored in a lot of adaptations. [Season 4] is going to be... I suppose you'd say... consequences. It's consequences. Chickens come to roost. It's dark in some ways-obviously it's great fun and a Sherlock Holmes romp and all that-but there's a sense of... things... coming back to bite you. It's not a safe, sensible way to live. It's hilarious and exhilarating some days, but some days it's going to be bloody frightening."

"Sherlock" will be back with for season 4 in 2016, but first the BBC will airing a special Christmas episode in 2015. The British crime drama based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories is moving to Plan B to Top "Sherlock: Series 3."

"Of course, it's far too early to say what's coming, but we're reasonably confident that the very next thing to happen to Sherlock and John, is the very last thing you'd expect ..." Moffat told Entertainment Weekly.

"We have a plan to top [Season 3]," Moffat continued. "And I do think our plan is devastating. We've practically reduced our cast to tears telling them the plan ... we're probably more excited that we've ever been about Sherlock.  It will be challenging place to go. We always start with a re-introduction that builds toward a darker climax - we might just be going darker [from the outset]. We got a very, very good set of ideas."

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman star as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Andrew Scott plays Sherlock's nemesis Jim Moriarty, whose fate was left undetermined in the last season.

Sherlock also stars Amanda Abbington (Mary), Louis Brealey (Molly Hooper) and Jonathan Aris (Anderson). Suzie Lavelle joins Sherlock season 4 as Director of Photography. Tom Hiddleston from "The Avengers" is rumored to be joining the cast as Sherlock's third brother.

BBC's "Sherlock has been a critic's favorite and an audience hit. Cumberbatch has become a major star since it began in 2010.