Sherlock season 4 release date is delayed. The BBC series will return some time after Christmas. Fans are blaming Benedict Cumberbatch, whose acting schedule has been hectic.

The Epoch Times reported that Sherlock season 4 release date is January 2016. Sherlock season 4 will have a three episode arc and feature one additional standalone episode.

Audiences will see Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes, in seven or eight movies before the Sherlock Season 4 premiere. Cumberbatch recently wrapped work on "The Imitation Game," "Penguins of Madagascar," "The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies," "Black Mass," "Magik," "The Yellow Birds," "Jungle Book: Origins" and "Flying Horse."

Sherlock Season 3 premiered on Jan. 1, 2014. The Sherlock finale, a cliffhanger that saw Sherlock take on the villainous Charles Augustus Magnussen, aired 12 days later.

That special one-off episode will be the Christmas episode which will likely air in 2015.  BBC announced that the episode starts filming in January 2015 and will air during the Christmas season. Production on Sherlock season 4 begins later in the year and might not hit screens until early 2016.

But the Christmas special will show a different side of the smart sleuth. In an interview with Empire Magazine, Cumberbatch said "We've never seen [Sherlock] being really pressed yet, so that will be interesting." Rumors say the episode will be based on the Sherlock Holmes story 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.'

Sherlock Co-creator Mark Gatiss posted an update saying "Series Four! At last! ... It's always special to return to Sherlock but this time it's even more special as we're doing...a Special! Not only THAT, we'll then be shooting three more episodes which will take Sherlock and John Watson into deeper and darker water than ever before...The whole 'Sherlock' team are terrifically excited to return for four new adventures. The Game is on - again!"

Steven Moffat added "A special, plus a new series of three episodes - it's a record-breaking run! 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 ...."