After teasing fans about an imminent announcement last night, BBC One has confirmed that Sherlock series 4 and a new special will be filming in 2015.

The network made an official statement for the first time about the progress on Sherlock series 4 on Wednesday at 2:21 p.m. Sherlock (British) time using the hashtag #221back. Unsurprisingly, series 4 will consist of three episodes.

Said series creator Steven Moffat in a press release, “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…”

Added producer Mark Gatiss, “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!”

Producer Sue Vertue noted that the busy schedules of Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch made it difficult to set things in stone. “It’s taken a little while to get the dates sorted as none of the boys are exactly sitting back twiddling their thumbs but there was unanimous goodwill to make this work, so we’re thrilled that 221b is going to be inhabited again.”

The network is describing the new Sherlock series as “the most shocking and surprising” one yet.

This new Sherlock special appears to be larger than the Christmas Special we saw late last year before series 3 because Moffat and Gatiss are playing it up like it’s the first time they’ve created such a thing.

The first word of a special came from Freeman earlier this week. He described it as a Christmas Special, whereas today’s announcement doesn’t associate it with a holiday.

If Sherlock is filming during 2015, we can expect series 4 to air in very late 2015 or early 2016. Series 3 began airing right after Christmas and pulled in great ratings for BBC One, so we assume they’re aiming for a similar plan with series 4.