"Sherlock" Season 4 is coming ... but there's still a lengthy wait. Meanwhile, the incomparable Benedict Cumberbatch, who portrays Sherlock in BBC's "Sherlock," will be playing King Richard III in "The Hollow Crown."

"The Hollow Crown" is a series of televised films featured in BBC's "William Shakespeare's History Plays." The first season starred Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston, and it was produced by Rupert Ryle-Hodges for BBC Two and was executively produced by Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris under Neal Street Productions in association with NBCUniversal.

The concluding cycle of "The Hollow Crown," subtitled The "Wars of the Roses," was announced in March 2014, and BBC set a tentative air date for 2016. The sequel will be produced by the same production team that created the first series, and it will be directed by Dominic Cooke.

"After the critical and popular success of the first part of The Hollow Crown -- and seven years after we very first suggested the idea to the BBC -- I am delighted to announce the start of principal photography on the second half of this magnificent epic story," said executive producer Sam Mendes in a statement. "Yet again we have assembled an amazing cast -- under the direction of the hugely talented Dominic Cooke. I'm very excited indeed to see them all bring the rest of this astonishing story to life."

"Sherlock" will be returning with a brand new fourth season, following a Christmas special that will air next year, 2015. The 2016 air date of Season 4 of "Sherlock" will keep to the pattern of the seasons being released every two years.

Actor Martin Freeman, who plays Dr. Watson on "Sherlock," has hinted that the one-episode special was going to exciting.

"Mark Gatiss [producer of "Sherlock"] may beat me up, but there is an idea for this one-off special that's such a good idea," said the actor while on Alan Carr's Channel 4 talk show, "Chatty Man." "As I was listening to it, I thought 'we've just got to do this.' It's a fantastic, really mouth-watering idea. But I really don't know when we are going to get to do it."

SPOILERS: The entire fourth season promises to have a darker climaxes; it will show the dynamics of the cast's friendships; female characters will be more prominent; there will be romance; a third Holmes, Sherrinford, may appear; Sherlock may be outwitted; and it will be "devastating."

RELATED VIDEO: