'Sherlock' Begins Production! What Do We Know About Season Three?

If you’re as excited for the return of “Sherlock” as I am, than any little piece of news is worthy of a tizzy with season three now under production.

Though the cast and crew are mysteriously good at maintaining their silence on any spoilers, there are a few things that are known about what is in store for Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and faithful John Watson (Martin Freeman).

-  Although he played the wildly insane villain Moriarty to perfection, don’t expect to see actor Andrew Scott back again. “I don’t want it to turn into a show that’s about one villain and one hero,” writer Steve Moffat has said. “Moriarty was great because he was a surprise. Every time you bring him back he won't be as big a surprise."

-  Steve Moffat, Mark Gatiss, and Steve Thompson have returned to pen three feature-length episodes, but director Paul McGuigan has left and been replaced with Colm McCarthy (“Doctor Who”) and Jeremy Lovering (“Spooks”).

-  The first episode is based on “The Adventure of the Empty House” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It will introduce another big Holmes enemy—Sebastian Moran.

-  Martin Freeman obviously learns that his friend is not actually dead. He says of his reaction: "fainting might not quite cut it.”

-  The new episodes are likely to air in the United States late this year, or early next year, so potentially in the U.K. toward the final weeks of this year.

Are you hotly anticipating the return of “Sherlock?” What do you hope to see this season?