BBC 'Sherlock' Season 4 and Special Episode: Series Will End When Benedict Cumberbatch Quits

"Sherlock" co-creator Steven Moffat has confirmed the hit series will end when Benedict Cumberbatch walks away from the hit BBC show that began airing in 2010.

No, "Sherlock" isn't like "Doctor Who" or "James Bond," which are known for allowing new actors to seasonally inherit the title role after another has finished with it. Moffat told Variety definitively, "Once Benedict Cumberbatch gives up Sherlock, what are we going to do? We are going to stop, that's what we are going to do."

He added that "Doctor Who" is different: "[It's] a television predator designed to survive any environment because you can replace absolutely everybody... [It's] a show that sheds us all like scales; a show that can make you feel everything except indispensable. It will carry on forever, because you can replace every part of it."

While that news might sound frightening "Sherlock" fans, neither Cumberbatch nor his co-star Martin Freeman expressed interest in leaving the show anytime soon. In fact, Cumberbatch told Vogue during an interview, that if the quality of the show remains intact that he expects he will never get tired of being Sherlock, he would love to plan him as an old man. Also, he told USA Today, "I'll keep doing ['Sherlock'] as long as [Sherlock] grows, as long as I feel he's developing and there's stuff we're all being challenged by and that's being loyal to the original stories as well."

The highly anticipated 90-minute, standalone Victorian special, "The Abominable Bride," will air Jan. 1, 2016, and tickets for the worldwide cinematic event are on sale, as of Nov. 2.

The cinematic release of the film will take place on Jan. 2, and it will include "bonus material.' Viewers will be privy to a guided tour of Holmes' abode at 221B Baker Street, and they'll also get to see some behind the scene footage, an overview of how the episode was made.