BBC's Sherlock will not return on prime time for at least another year since production is still in its preparation stage.

Executive producer Steven Moffat said that conflicting schedules among actors are causing the show's further delay. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, two of the main protagonists, are also casted in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies which is set to premiere in December.

"We're literally in the middle of working out what we're doing and the dates we've got. It's a bit of a watch-this-space, I'm afraid," executive producer Sue Vertue told Vulture. Moffat, who is also a co-creator of Doctor Who, reassured fans that though Sherlock's fourth season will probably take at least a year to complete, the quality remains similar to that of any James Bond movies.

Netflix recently announced that Sherlock Season 3 is now available for binge watching on Netflix's Watch Instantly. Fans can readily watch The Empty Hearse, The Sign of Three, and His Last Vow. Aside from that, BBC will also be releasing Sherlock Uncovered, a documentary and behind-the-scenes shoot of the network's contemporary detective series.

Sherlock Uncovered highlights The Return, The Women, and The Villains, which discusses the casts and crew, the women in Sherlock Holmes' life, and his adversaries.

Sherlock Season 4 is expected to return on BBC no later than 2016 with other actors such as Jonathan Aris, Rupert Graves, Clive Mantle, Vinette Robinsons, Louise Brealey, Andrew Scott, Lars Mikkelsen, Jalaal Hartley and Una Stubbs.