Sherlock dealt Season 4 quite a blow with January 1 premiere “The Six Thatchers,” but will the world’s greatest detective and Watson recover in time to deal with Toby Jones’ Culverton Smith? That’s the question posed by next week’s “The Lying Detective,” as the first trailer teases that Sherlock will be adding to the kills under his belt.

You’re warned of full spoilers for Sherlock Season 4 premiere “The Six Thatchers” from here on out, but suffice to say, it won’t be easy getting Sherlock and John back together after Mary (Amanda Abbington)’s death. From the looks of our first “The Lying Detective” trailer, only the “despicable” antics of a new villain can even get the pair sharing a frame (along with Sherlock’s new sadness stubble).

So reads the full synopsis for next Sunday’s “The Lying Detective” (a reference to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Dying Detective”), in which Abbington is notably still credited:

In episode two of this new series, written by Steven Moffat, Sherlock faces perhaps the most chilling enemy of his long career: the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith - a man with a very dark secret indeed.

Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Sherlock Holmes, with Martin Freeman as John Watson, Mark Gatiss as Mycroft, Rupert Graves as Inspector Lestrade, Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson, Amanda Abbington as Mary Watson, Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper and Toby Jones as Culverton Smith.

Of course, there’s still the matter of Moriarty’s posthumous return (no doubt season finale “The Final Problem” will offer more answers), but check out the original Season 4 trailers below, and stay tuned for the latest.

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