‘Sherlock’ Season 4, Janine, the third Holmes brother and more from Steven Moffat

When will “Sherlock” Season 4 premiere? How has Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) changed since Season 1? Will Janine ever return? Executive producer Steven Moffat has some answers in an interview with IGN.

Sherlock and dating

Did you enjoy that brief moment when “Sherl” and Janine were dating? If so, you are in luck — Moffat hints strongly that actress Yasmine Akram will return later in the series.

“He’ll see her again. They’ll be pals,” Moffat explains. “I loved Yasmine’s performance as Janine — she still likes him in the end. At some point, you know, if Sherlock Holmes has to go to a function and he needs a date, he’ll phone her up. Now, he’ll not expect her to say no. She’ll be very cross with him, but she’ll show up, and they’ll have a good time. They will, because he likes her.”

Considering how amusingly self-serving Janine is in Season 3, any future dates may just be hilarious.

Holmes brotherly love

If you paid close attention toward the end of “His Final Vow,” you probably noticed Mycroft’s offhand mention of another brother in the Holmes family. Although Moffat doesn’t give specifics about something as big as that, he is willing to be a tease. “Wait and see!” he exclaims when asked about what part the third Holmes brother might play in the future of “Sherlock.”

As for the two existing Holmes brothers, Moffat has strong feelings about what the relationship is between the two geniuses. “He’s quite close to his brother, from the very start — that’s not something that’s changed — from the very, very beginning of ‘A Study in Pink,'” Moffat says of Mycroft (Mark Gatiss). “He’s trying to look out for him. He’s worried about him. He’s worried about what his junkie little brother might do next, as you would be in real life. If your little brother or something wanted to be a detective, not a junkie anymore, now a detective, because crime is really fascinating, you’d be worried. He’s worried, that’s all.”

Season 4?

Whatever teases fans may get from Moffat, the big question is always: When will Season 4 premiere? “I have no idea,” is Moffat’s infuriatingly vague answer. “Sue [Vertue]‘s working on the schedules right now. I just started with [Peter] Capaldi on the new series of ‘Doctor Who.’ You know, we’ll do what we can, but with no sacrifice in quality — that’s the thing.”