'Sherlock' Ends Season with Low Ratings, Russian Piracy

The long-awaited fourth season of Sherlock wrapped up this weekend with series-low ratings in the UK and a potential scandal involving Russian pirates. Overall, it was a fitting end to what might be the series' final go around.

The third and final episode of the season aired on Sunday on the BBC and on PBS in the United States. The episode drew 5.9 million total viewers inthe UK, down just a touch from the previous episode. That previous episode, however, had already set a series-low ratings mark with 6 million viewers.

The episode's numbers are still big, however, and in terms of the percentage of British viewers tuned in to the program, they weren't as bad as some earlier episodes. The series also does very well in delayed viewing.

The BBC is also investigating the appearance last weekend of a Russian-dubbed version of the episode that popped up online the day before the show aired on the BBC. The leaked version also included a promo for the state-run network that airs the series in Russia, suggesting that the leak came from inside the country.

It remains unclear whether or not Sherlock will be back for a fifth season. Both the series' creators and its stars say they are open to the possibility, but their enthusiasm seems muted.