New Sherlock Photos Introduce Baby Watson

Next year, fans of BBC's Sherlock will finally breathe a sigh of relief when the series debuts its fourth season. The much-anticipated return will see Benedict Cumberbatch reprise his role as Sherlock Holmes while Martin Freeman revives his grumpy disposition to play John Watson. The new season is slated to premiere on New Years, and the BBC is doing all they can do get fans hyped for its release.

So, of course, they decided to give fans a treat and publish a photo of Watson's baby.

Recently, Masterpiece and PBS dropped a slew of Sherlock photos online which show a few familiar characters. However, a couple brand-new faces can also be seen, and one of them is Watson's baby. The cute kid can be seen tucked into a carrier that's strapped to the good doctor himself. Mama Mary Morstan is shown standing beside Watson in the photo while Sherlock peers over them to look at the baby. Judging by Sherlock's expression, he doesn't seem too impressed by the new addition.

Several other photos from Sherlock Season 4 were also released. Another new face was show to fans as a photo of Toby Jones' character was revealed. The actor will play baddie Culverton Jones who is said to be the series' most fearsome villain yet.

PBS and Masterpiece also posted photos of returning characters like Mycroft Holmes. In one image, Mycroft can be seen standing in front of a Cabinet Office sign with a rather serious face. Another picture them shows him walking beside his younger brother Sherlock, and neither man seems pleased to be in each other's company.

Looking at the new photos, fans can see just why the cast and crew of Sherlock are saying Season 4 will be the most dark yet. These promo photos are foreboding to say at the least, and even Sherlock seems plussed in the pictures. Of course, fans have been expecting this new season to be a dark one. When Season 3 ended several years ago, fans were stunned to learn that Moriarty had perhaps survived a previous suicide attempt. The psychotic villain was seen in the finale taunting Sherlock by asking the consulting detective if he had missed him.

However, if Culverton Jones is half as terrifying as they say, then he might be behind Moriarty's return. The villain may be playing a long game, and the con may use Moriarty as its face to distract Sherlock from Culverton's real plans.

Right now, fans can only guess at what the new season will contain. Earlier this year, the BBC released the first two episode titles for Season 4: The Six Thatchers and The Lying Detective. The third had been kept secret, and Cumberbatch has told fans the finale will stun viewers.

Season 4 of Sherlock is slated to air on January 1, 2016.

[H/T] Deadline